`Karnataka poll results indicate rejection of BJP`s policies`

Congress spokesman Janardan Dwivedi said that emerging results and leads in Karnataka Assembly Elections reflected the public`s rejection of the BJP policies.

New Delhi/Nagpur: Congress Party general secretary and spokesman Janardan Dwivedi on Wednesday said that emerging results and leads in the Karnataka Assembly Elections reflected the public`s rejection of the policies being pursued by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the previous five years.

Interacting with media persons here, even as trends suggested a certain victory for the Congress Party in the state, Dwivedi said: "It is the loss of the policies of the opposition and their ideology. Their views have not been accepted by the public." "It is a win of the policies of the Congress," he added. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said: " Karnataka’s victory is a moment of pride (for the Congress), because there are a lot of impactful parties there." "In spite of that, the Congress has won by an absolute majority," she added. Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) ideologue MG Vaidya said that he was not all surprised by the electoral loss of the BJP in Karnataka. Speaking at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, he said: "It is not very surprising, but I didn’t expect the BJP to get less than 50 seats." "I talked with the people of Karnataka. They also expected around 60 seats," Vaidya added. He blamed the BJP`s loss on former party stalwart and chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, who split and formed his own KJP. "The only reason is Yeddyurappa," Vaidya said. The RSS ideologue also said that he was not in the business of comparing people, when asked specifically about Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi`s impact on the elections in Karnataka. "I don’t like to compare people. Modi is also a (chief) minister, a famous one. I don’t have the figures where Modi has promoted and how many seats they got there," he said. He also ruled out the possibility of the BJP`s defeat in Karnataka having an affect on next year`s General Elections. "We can only comment after the future elections," he said. As per the latest trends, the Congress was set to return to power in Karnataka, with its candidates winning 10 seats and leading in 105 seats. While the ruling BJP has been pushed to the third spot, leading only in 35 seats. The Janata Dal-Secular is leading in 42 seats. As per the latest trends, the Karnataka Janatha Paksha, which is led by former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, is leading in 11 seats. Counting of votes for the Karnataka Assembly Elections, which witnessed a 70.23 percent voter turnout on May 05, began this morning at 8 am amidst tight security. The results of the vote count will decide who will occupy each of the 223 seats up for grabs in the State Assembly. For the Congress, it is a day of high anxiety, when a possible triumph for the party in Karnataka could be offset by a possible embarrassment in the Supreme Court which will be hearing the Central Bureau of Investigation`s (CBI`s) fresh affidavit on the coal block allocation case. Congress leaders are hoping to get some respite from the apex court and a Karnataka win, which would help the party give a positive political spin to their strategy for the 2014 General Elections. From the BJP`s point of view, a loss would force it rejig political strategy and probably move away from its single point agenda of highlighting the graft of the Congress. In the 2008 elections, BJP secured 110 seats, three short of majority and formed the government with the help of five independents who were made ministers. Congress bagged 80 seats and JD-S 28. The overall voter turnout then was 64.91 percent. ANI