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Buoyed by its success in Karnataka, Congress Ministers on Wednesday, said this was an "innings defeat" for BJP and the verdict has exposed its star campaigner Narendra Modi.
"In Karnataka, the match is over and BJP has suffered an innings defeat. It will now blame the bat, the ball and the pitch for its defeat. People have now seen the real face of BJP and in Karnataka, people have discarded them lock, stock and barrel," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath told reporters outside Parliament House. He said BJP stands "clearly exposed" and this would be the trend in the forthcoming elections for five state assemblies and general elections to be held next year.
Nath said in the last five months, BJP has lost power in three states including Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the north and Karnataka in the south. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said the victory was a "shot in the arm" for Congress and credited party President Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party Vice President Rahul Gandhi for the victory in polls.
When asked what message did the election results give to Gujarat Chief minister Narendra Modi, he said, "The message is no Modi."
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayansamy said, "BJP brought Narendra Modi in Karnataka, Narendra Modi has drowned and BJP has been finished there." "We have won despite the disinformation campaign being run against us by BJP in the country and I thank the people of Karnataka ," he said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday hailed the party's showing in Karnataka polls, saying the result was a rejection of BJP's idealogy and suggested the same would be repeated in the Lok Sabha elections as well. Singh praised the efforts of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, saying he took a "leading role" in the campaigning for the polls held on Sunday last. "It is a clear result against the ideology of the BJP which has been ruling in the state of Karnataka," Singh told reporters outside Parliament House as results from Karnataka polls showed that Congress was well on its way towards achieving a majority.
On the Lok Sabha elections, the Prime Minister said, "The people of the country know what is what and they will reject the BJP ideology as the result in Karnataka shows." He congratulated Congress workers in Karnataka for the outcome. Sonia Gandhi, when asked to comment on the Karnataka result, said, "I am very happy with the victory in Karnataka. It was a joint effort." Expressing confidence that Congress will get absolute majority in Karnataka, Finance Minister P Chidambaram promised that there will be a stable, progressive and hardworking government in the state for next five years.
The Congress leader also ruled out early general elections, saying the UPA government has a lot of work to complete.
