Cong claims people rejected divisive policies of ruling govt

New Delhi: Buoyed by the party’s good showing in the Karnataka bypolls, the Congress on Tuesday said it was indicative of the “changed mood” in the country. In an emphatic endorsement of Karnataka’s ruling JD(S)-Congress coalition by the voters, its candidates Tuesday won both the assembly constituencies and two of the three Lok Sabha seats in the bitterly fought by-polls held on Saturday.

“Congratulations to all the workers and leaders of the Congress party in Karnataka on the decisive victory of the Congress-JD(S) alliance in the By-Polls in the state. I thank each & every one of you, for your dedication & hard work that made this victory possible,” Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister P. Chidambaram, in a tweet, said a 4-1 result in Karnataka “looks like a Test series win under Virat Kohli”. The Congress-JD(S) coalition has delivered, he said. In another tweet, Mr Chidambaram said, “Deepavali celebrates the victory of good over evil. The demon is vanquished. The modern day demons are hate, intolerance and impunity. Let the new year bring victory for love, tolerance and constitutional values.”

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, at a press conference here, said his party and the other progressive and pluralistic forces had “vanquished” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last 10 bypolls in the country.

“Today, the news from Karnataka is extremely encouraging...This is indicative of the changed mood in the country,” Tewari said.

Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “This is the victory of pro-people policies of the Karnataka government and a rejection of the corrupt and divisive policies of the BJP.”

The by-election results have come as a major setback for the main opposition BJP ahead of the 2019 elections with the party losing the Ballari Lok Sabha seat.    —PTI