Karnataka Polls: Victory, Defeat Not New For Party, Says BJP's Yediyurappa

Karnataka BJP leader B S Yediyurappa on Saturday said that victory and defeat are not new for the party and it will introspect the setback as Congress surged ahead with counting going on for the recently held assembly elections in the state.

Congress is heading towards a landslide victory in Karnataka, having won 82 seats and currently in another 54 compared to BJP’s 44 seats won and lead in 20 seats.

Speaking on the party’s defeat in Karnataka, Yediyurappa said, “Victory and defeat aren't new to BJP. Party workers need not be panicked by these results. We will introspect about the party's setback. I respectfully accept this verdict.”

Earlier, Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai had conceded defeat and said that the BJP will come back stronger in the 2024 Lok Sabha general elections.

Congress had taken the lead in 124 seats at noon while BJP led in 69 seats and JD(S) led in 24 seats. Bommai said that once the results will be out a detained analysis will be done to analyse the gaps that were left at various levels.

Bommai said, “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.”

He also said that all the efforts put in by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP workers did not bear fruit in Karnataka. “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.

Earlier, CM Bommai had exuded confidence of BJP’s victory. As Congress workers on cheered their party’s win, Bommai’s convoy got stuck in Haveri.

The counting of votes began for the recently held elections in Karnataka began at 8 am today morning amid tight security across the state.

Also Read: Karnataka Congress Chief DK Shivakumar Breaks Down As Party Leads