Congress won an absolute majority in Karnataka on Saturday with the party crossing the halfway mark of 113 seats in the 224-member assembly.
According to the latest trends of the Election Commission of India, Congress has won 114 seats and is leading in 22 more seats. Bharatiya Janata Party has won 50 seats and is leading on 14 others.
JD(S) has won 17 seats and is leading on three. Independents have won two seats while Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha and Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha have won one seat each.
Elections were held on May 10 in the southern state and saw a voting percentage of 72. 68 per cent.
The Congress maintained a lead from the morning when counting began for the assembly seats in the fiercely contested election.
Taking responsibility for the debacle as trends showed Bharatiya Janata Party losing the southern state, Karnataka's outgoing chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said that there are multiple reasons for the defeat and the party will find out all of them.
Bommai himself won with a whooping margin of 35978 votes from the Shiggaon constituency. "...I take responsibility for this debacle. There are multiple reasons for this. We will find out all the reasons and strengthen the party once again for Parliament elections..," said Basavaraj Bommai.
He said that the party will take the verdict in its 'stride'.
Taking to Twitter, Bommai said, "We accept the verdict of the people of Karnataka with due respect. We will take this verdict in our stride. We will analyse and correct our fault lines and rebuild the party and come back during parliamentary elections
Earlier in the day, Bommai said that once the results will be out a detailed analysis will be done to analyse the gaps that were left at various levels.
"We've not been able to make the mark. Once the results come we will do a detailed analysis. As a national party, we will not only analyse but also see what deficiencies and gaps were left at various levels. We take this result in our stride," said Basavaraj Bommai.
He further added that all the efforts put in by prime minister Narendra Modi and the BJP workers weren't able to make the mark.
"In spite of a lot of efforts put in by PM and BJP workers, we've not been able to make the mark. Once the full results come we'll do a detailed analysis. We take this result in our stride to come back in Lok Sabha elections," said Bommai.
Bommai had earlier said that he was confident of a BJP victory.
The exit polls predicted a hung assembly with some showing Congress returning to power with a majority. A few exit polls also showed BJP ahead.
The fiercely contested election saw high-pitch campaigns from the political parties.
The polling for the seats was held on 10 May with a voting percentage of 72. 68 per cent in voting for 224 seats. A party needs 113 seats to get a majority.
Rahul thanks party leaders
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hailed the party's victory in Karnataka assembly polls and said that people of the State defeated the politics of hate.
Addressing reporters at the Congress headquarters here in the national capital Rahul Gandhi said that the Congress stood in support of the poor.
"The poor defeated crony capitalists in Karnataka. What I really liked about this election is that we did not fight the battle with hatred. We fought the elections with love...," he said.
"I want to thank all the party leaders and workers in Karnataka. Karnataka mein Nafrat ki bazaar band hui hai, Mohabbat ki dukaane khuli hai. We fought on the issues of the poor. We did not fight this battle using hatred and wrong words. This will happen in every state," Rahul Gandhi told the mediapersons here.
Rahul Gandhi coined the 'Nafrat ki bazaar band hui hai, Mohabbat ki dukaane khuli hai' phrase during the Bharat Jodo Yatra which he undertook last year and ended this year in Srinagar.
"Poor people defeated crony capitalists in Karnataka. We didn't fight this battle using hatred..." he said.
Earlier, Congress leader Siddaramaiah today said with the mandate for the party in the Karnataka Assembly elections he hopes for Rahul Gandhi to become the prime minister of the country.
The Congress leader hoped that Rahul Gandhi, who was the prime ministerial candidate of the Congress in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, becomes the prime minister in 2024.
Describing the results of the Karnataka Assembly polls as a mandate against prime minister Narendra Modi, Siddaramaiah said that it would act as a "stepping stone" to the Lok Sabha election slated next year.
"The result of this election is a stepping stone to the Lok Sabha election. I hope all non-BJP parties come together and see that BJP is defeated and I also hope Rahul Gandhi may become PM of the country," Siddaramaiah said.
"It is a mandate against Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and JP Nadda. The PM had come to Karnataka 20 times, no PM in the past campaigned like this," Siddaramaiah said.
Modi congratulates Congress
Prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated the Congress party for its win in the Karnataka assembly election.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost the only southern state that it ruled.
"Congratulations to the Congress Party for their victory in the Karnataka Assembly polls. My best wishes to them in fulfilling people's aspirations," Tweeted Narendra Modi.
Bharatiya Janata Party has won 50 seats and is leading on 14 others.
PM Modi also thanked the supporters and the BJP Karyakartas for their hard work.
"I thank all those who have supported us in the Karnataka elections. I appreciate the hard work of BJP Karyakartas. We shall serve Karnataka with even more vigour in the times to come," Tweeted PM Modi.
JD(S) has won 17 seats and is leading on three. Independents have won two seats while Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha and Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha have won one seat each.
Elections were held on 10 May in the southern state and saw a voting percentage of 72.68 per cent.
The Congress maintained a lead from the morning when counting began for the assembly seats in the fiercely contested election.
The exit polls predicted a hung assembly with some showing Congress returning to power with a majority. A few exit polls also showed BJP ahead.
If there is a hung assembly, Janata Dal (Secular) can play the role of a kingmaker.
The fiercely contested election that saw high-pitch campaigns from the political parties is crucial for both BJP and Congress.