New Delhi, May 25 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh was today in celebratory mode, and predicted that Sunday's results in Karnataka should serve as an indication of what could happen when general elections are held in the middle of 2009.
With his party poised to form the next government in Karnataka, Singh said the BJP may be short of a majority, but it won't be deterred from forming the next government.
"In Karnataka, the party may be one or two seats deficient of majority but that won't deter BJP from forming the next government," he told reporters here.
"If any party will form the government in Karnataka, it will be none other than BJP," he added.
"Today's result shows that the BJP's victory will continue right up to the general elections, including in the Assembly elections to be held in Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan later this year," Singh said.
He added with the party ruling in seven states while it is in coalition in another five, the BJP is poised to perform similarly in the coming elections.
Singh, however, chose not to comment on the factors behind his party's success in Karnataka.
Congress blames vote split for its poor show in Karnataka
Meanwhile, The Congress on Sunday blamed the three-way split in votes for its failure to win substantially in the three-phased Karnataka State Assembly elections.
Union Minister and AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Prithviraj Chavan said the party might not be able to reach the half way mark, and attributed it to the Janata Dal Secular doing well in a limited way.
Asked whether it was possible for the Congress to align with the JD(S), Chavan said these decisions would be taken by the Congress Working Committee and the party high command.
He also blamed the delayed delimitation and defective voters' list as factors responsible for the Congress' bad performance.
BJP poised to form Government in Karnataka, may fall short of majority
Bangalore, May 25 (ANI): By Sunday afternoon, the Bharatiya Janata Party appeared close to forming its first government in Karnataka, even though it may fall short of getting a majority.
The saffron party is already leading in over 100 seats, clearly ahead of its rivals the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular).
With more results coming out in the BJP's favour, it has decided to hold its legislature party meeting here on Monday.
BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley who was among the key figures responsible for evolving a successful strategy for the party is expected to attend the meeting along with other top leaders.
The BJP has already declared B S Yeddiurappa as its Chief Ministerial candidate.
So far, the BJP is leading in 109 seats, the JD(S) in 31 seats, the Congress 76 seats and Others in eight seats.
Of the results in so far, the BJP has won 50 seats, the Congress 28, the Janata Dal (Secular) 10, and the CPI-M one. More results are expected to come in shortly.
The BJP appeared to be doing well in almost all regions.
The prominent candidates in the election included BJP chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddiurappa, who has fought an electoral battle against Samajwadi Party's S Bangarappa, former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, his brother H D Revanna, KPCC President M Mallikarjun Kharge, former Chief Minister N Dharam Singh, former Deputy Chief Minsiters-- Siddaramaiah and M P Prakash.
Other notables contestants are: two sons of Bangarappa, Kumar and Madhu, locked in fierce battle of ballot in Soraba, former ministers R V Deshpande, D K Shivakumar, A Krishnappa, Ramalinga Reddy, Dr G Parameshwara (all Cong), K S Eswarappa, Jagadish Shettar, Katta Subramanya Naidu, R Ashok (all BJP), N Cheluvaraya Swamy of JDS and JDS state unit party president Merajuddin Patel.
Among the MPs trying their luck to enter the Assembly are: film star-turned politician, M H Ambareesh, A Venkatesh Naik, Narsingrao Suryavamshi (all Cong), Basavanagouda Patil Yatnal, Ramesh Jigajinagi, G Karunakara Reddy (all BJP) and S Bangarappa of Samajwadi Party.
In the 2004 election, the Congress could win only 65 seats and the BJP with 28.49 per cent vote share emerged as the single largest party, winning 79 seats.
The JDS, which won 58 seats gaining 20.59 per cent votes, held the key to the government formation, and installed two coalition governments and toppled both of them. (ANI)
BJP's Karnataka unit says will sit in Opposition if it fails to get 113 seats
The Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said that it will prefer to sit in the Opposition if it fails to secure a simple majority after the counting of votes cast in the recent State Assembly polls.
Though poised to emerge as the single largest party in Karnataka, the BJP's Karnataka president Sadananda Gowda said it would not tie-up with the Janata Dal (Secular) if it failed to reach the magical figure of 113.
"We said it before the election that we will sit in the Opposition bench if we are not able to reach the magical figure of 113 and we still stand by it," Gowda said.
He also said that dissidents of the JD (S) are welcome to join the BJP.
"If they want to break away and join us, how can we stop them," Gowda said.
While early election trends show that BJP might just be able to reach the magical figure of 113 out of 224 seats in the Karnataka Assembly, the party might also fall short by a few seats.
"It is certain that we will form the government. We will get 113-117 seats," the state president said.
With BJP doing well in rural areas which was primarily strongholds of both the Congress and the JD (S), Gowda attributed its rise in these areas to the recent delimitation process.
"We have been able to get five to seven percent more seats in rural areas because of the delimitation process," he said.
