'Lessons From Karnataka': Kapil Sibal Takes A Dig At BJP After Congress' Victory

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP and noted lawyer Kapil Sibal on Monday took a swipe at the BJP over its defeat in the Karnataka Assembly Elections, saying the lesson from the poll outcome was that one cannot sell the same product, repeat the same lies or play the communal card all the time. In a tweet, Sibal said, "Lesson from Karnataka outcome: You can't: sell the same product, repeat the same lies, spew venom, vilify the past, align with a corrupt government and call others corrupt, play the communal card, all the time!"

 

Lesson from Karnataka outcome:

You can’t :

sell the same product
repeat the same lies
spew venom
vilify the past
align with a corrupt government and call others corrupt
play the communal card

All the time ! — Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) May 15, 2023

 

Earlier on Sunday, Sibal had urged the Congress to "win people's hearts" for the next five years in the state by being open, honest and non-discriminatory. Sibal, who was a Union Minister during UPA 1 and 2, had quit the Congress in May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an Independent member with the Samajwadi Party's support. He recently floated a non-electoral platform 'Insaaf' aimed at fighting injustice.

 

Karnataka

Winning elections is tough
Winning people’s hearts is tougher !

For the next 5 years
Win people’s hearts

By being :
open
honest
non-discriminatory

BJP lost for not being any of this ! — Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) May 14, 2023

 

Congress Sweeps Karnataka Elections

According to the Election Commission of India, Congress won 135 seats pushing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of power in the only southern state it ruled and emerging as the natural opposition party in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. BJP managed to win 66 seats. Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) bagged 19 seats. Independents have won two seats while Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha and Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha won one seat each.

Many Opposition leaders congratulated the Congress for its emphatic victory in Karnataka and credited the success to the impact of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra. Following the defeat, Basavaraj Boommai submitted his resignation and accepted the responsibility, saying they will conduct a detailed analysis and will come back stronger.

"We had an informal meeting with our president and we have discussed certain issues and we'll shortly call elected representatives and the people who contested. We will have an in-depth analysis and do the course correction to come back to power in the Lok Sabha elections," said Bommai.

Elections in Karnataka were held on May 10 and saw a voting percentage of 73.29 per cent. With 42.88 per cent vote share, the Congress created history by registering the biggest vote share by any party in the Karnataka assembly polls in the last 34 years.

Congress Observers To Hand Over Report To Kharge
 

Amid intense lobbying for the chief minister's post in Karnataka, the three central observers deputed by the Congress on Monday returned to the national capital after speaking individually to the newly elected MLAs. The observers will hand over the report on the views expressed by the majority of the MLAs to party president Mallikarjun Kharge later in the day.

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah and PCC president D K Shivakumar are both staking claim to the top post and are lobbying hard for it. Kharge had appointed former Maharashtra chief minister Sushilkumar Shinde, party general secretary Jitendra Singh and former AICC general secretary Deepak Babaria as observers for the election of the CLP Leader of Karnataka.

The three leaders along with the AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala left Bengaluru for Delhi and will meet Kharge. The observers spoke individually to all the newly elected MLAs and sought their opinion on who should be the chief minister of the state.

However, highly placed sources have confirmed that senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah will be the next Chief Minister of Karnataka and the party’s state unit president D K Shivakumar will be his deputy. Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge is expected to make a formal announcement in this regard on Monday after the party’s impressive victory in the crucial assembly elections held in the southern state.

Poster War In Karnataka

They spoke to all the MLAs after dinner at a private hotel on Sunday night and completed the process. A poster war by supporters of both leaders also erupted soon after the party won the election. Earlier, during the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party in Bengaluru on Sunday evening the MLAs passed a one-line resolution authorising the party president to appoint the CLP leader in the state who would be the next chief minister. The Congress staged a stupendous victory in the May 10 assembly election by winning 135 seats out of a total of 224.