West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said today that the Karnataka governor should follow democratic norms and call the Congress and the JD(S) to form the next government as the two parties together have the majority.
Her remarks came in the backdrop of the past government formation process in Goa and Manipur, where the Congress despite emerging as the single largest party was not invited to form the government by the respective governors.
"There is a precedence in Goa and Manipur where the Congress, despite emerging as the single largest party, was not called to form the government. So it depends on the governor," she said.
"But what I feel is that we are proud of our democracy. Let that democratic norms be taken forward. And I think because the Congress and Deve Gowda's party has already requested the governor stating that they want to form the government together. We must give respect to our democratic set up," Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat.
According to latest results and trends of Karnataka polls for 222 seats, the BJP has won 99 seats and was leading at 4, while the Congress won 76 and leading on 2.
The JD(S) has bagged 37 seats.
A party or coalition would need to win 112 seats to form a government in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly.
This morning, the Trinamool Congress supremo tweeted that had the Congress gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the results of the elections would have been "very different".
"If Congress had gone into an alliance with JD (S), the results would have been different, very different," she said.
Banerjee congratulated H D Deve Gowda's JD(S) and went on emphasising on the growing importance of regional parties.
"I cannot say that (whether Congress will form the next government or not). But we must congratulate Deve Gowda and his party because they have done a better job being a regional party.
"I have been saying that we have to take regional parties into confidence because they all are playing important roles from their own field. And today also, that was proved. I had said that they will be the kingmakers. They will be the actual leaders," Banerjee, who has mooted the idea of a federal front of regional parties, said.
All national parties, including the Congress and the BJP, should realise the importance of regional parties, she said.
"Every state has its own identity and regional aspiration. The national parties have to consider their aspiration and the regional expectation of the people and I feel that both Congress and BJP must remember the importance of the regional parties... We must remember that the Centre is the policy maker and the states are actually implementing them," she said.
Banerjee described the performance of the Congress in the Karnataka polls as "a lot better", though the number of seats increased for the BJP.
"Their (Congress') vote percentage is lot better but BJP's seat has increased," she said.
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