Karnataka Polls: PM, AAP send wishes to Congress Party

Hyderabad: In the recently concluded Karnataka Assembly polls, the Congress party emerged as the clear winner, winning 132 seats and leading in 4 more out of the 224-member assembly.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Congress for its victory and wished the party the best in fulfilling the people's aspirations. In a tweet, Modi thanked those who supported the BJP and appreciated the hard work of BJP Karyakartas.

"I thank all those who have supported us in the Karnataka elections. I appreciate the hardwork of BJP Karyakartas. We shall serve Karnataka with even more vigour in the times to come," Modi said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also congratulated the Congress for their win in Karnataka, and he said the BJP should now realize that its tactics do not work anymore. Kejriwal downplayed AAP's dismal performance in the elections and said that a time will come when his party will win in Karnataka as well. According to the Election Commission website, AAP appeared to have drawn a blank, securing just 0.58 percent of votes.

"Congratulations to them," Kejriwal told reporters at the party headquarters when asked to comment on the Congress' victory in the Karnataka elections.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah congratulated the people of Karnataka for "rejecting" those who want to divide the country on religious lines. He said that the people of Karnataka have given a "befitting reply" that India is one and "we all, belonging to any religion, will take this country, the state, forward together".

"I congratulate the people of Karnataka for rejecting those who want to divide us on religious lines, who used to threaten that if you vote for anyone else, then everything will be stopped," told Abdullah.

Meanwhile, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti described the Karnataka Assembly poll results as a "ray of hope" and said she hopes that the rest of the country will also reject "communal politics" and vote for development and prosperity. Mehbooba's remarks came after the Congress emerged as the clear winner in the electoral battle in Karnataka.

"The BJP tried its best to communalize the situation as is their habit. They even brought Bajrang Bali, religion, and Hindu-Muslim into the discourse. The prime minister tried to take the discourse on religious lines. Despite that, people kept these issues on the sidelines and chose the issue of development on which the Congress ran its campaign," the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister told media.

Inputs from PTI