Maha, Haryana results give Cong, JD(S) ammo

The results of the Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections on Thursday have come as a morale booster for the Congress ahead of the crucial December 5 bypolls.

Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah, in his reaction to the poll results, said defectors would face the same fate as 'turncoats who lost the elections in Maharashtra and the Gujarat bypolls. "People have rejected them. The same trend will repeat here," he said.

"Congress will win a majority of seats in the upcoming bypolls. This will create a scenario where Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa will have to 'resign," Siddaramaiah said.

To a question, he said that the Congress would go to polls after unseating the BJP government. "We are not like Yediyurappa and won't form a minority government."

To drive home the message, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao tweeted: "Be it Alpesh Thakor or Udayanraje Bhosale, nearly all the turncoats, who cheated the electorate and their party by joining the BJP, have been defeated. The 'atrupta' (disgruntled) MLAs of Karnataka will soon meet a similar fate."

Former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) said that the Haryana and Maharashtra results will have an impact on the December 5 bypolls. "The bypolls will be a difficult election for the BJP. It will be completing 100 days of governance soon, but has failed to work towards development in the state or even address the flood situation. People have taken note of it," he said. Further, he expressed doubts about whether the bypolls will be held at all. The Election Commission was operating under "remote control", he said, adding that it was not functioning independently.

Contesting these views, Yediyurappa maintained that the Haryana and Maharashtra poll results were encouraging for the BJP. "The results will help us win all the 15 seats in the upcoming bypolls," he said. Taking a dig at the Congress, Yediyurappa said the poll results reflected the erosion of Congress' base, which he said was dropping poll after poll.