Karnataka concedes defeat in election: ‘BJP not able to make mark’

Conceding defeat in the Karnataka assembly election, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said the Bharatiya Janata Party has not been able to make the mark, while the Congress did it successfully.

Bommai's reaction comes even as the Congress was striding forward with leads in 128 seats, while the BJP was ahead in 66 in Karnataka, according to Election Commission of India trends, as votes were counted on Saturday for an election widely seen as a litmus test for both parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"We have not been able to make the mark. The Congress has done it successfully… 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," the Karnataka chief minister told reporters.

With a much-needed victory tantalisingly close in the crucial southern state, early celebrations broke out at the opposition Congress headquarters in Bengaluru and Delhi. BJP leaders, hoping to break a 38-year jinx of Karnataka not voting an incumbent to power, looked at a possible loss but waited till counting ended to analyse why and how.\

Congress workers and leaders, desperately looking to reverse its electoral fortunes and position itself as the main opposition player in 2024, were jubilant.