Mamata Banerjee, among others, salutes Karnataka people over Congress win

Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress party chief Mamata Banerjee, among other opposition leaders, congratulated the people of Karnataka saying brute authoritarian and majoritarian politics has been vanquished, reports The Wire.

"My salutations to the people of Karnataka for their decisive mandate in favour of change!! Brute authoritarian and majoritarian politics is vanquished!!," she tweeted on Saturday (13 May).

She dubbed the win a lesson for tomorrow saying, "When people want plurality and democratic forces to win, no central design to dominate can repress their spontaneity."

Other opposition parties with varying relationships with Congress have responded to BJP's loss in Karnataka in various ways. Some explicitly and some in creative posts.

"This verdict also shows that the people have rejected the virulent communal propaganda conducted during the election campaign led by PM Modi himself," The Communist Party of India (Marxist) said in a statement.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam head and chief minister of Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin tweeted, "Congrats @INCIndia  on spectacular winning of Karnataka. The unjustifiable disqualification of brother  @RahulGandhi  as MP, misusing premier investigative agencies against political opponents, imposing Hindi, rampant corruption have all echoed in the minds of Karnataka people while voting and they have upheld the #KannadigaPride by teaching a befitting lesson to BJP's vindictive politics."

Congress's Bihar ally, Rashtriya Janata Dal, used a clever wordplay in Hindi to highlight their victory, stating that "Bajrang Bali" had won 130 and "Bajrang Dal" got 66, a direct reference to PM Narendra Modi's statement that Congress's plan to ban Bajrang Dal was an insult to the Hindu deity Hanuman.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal was gracious in congratulating the Congress and sought to put AAP's underwhelming performance in the Karnataka election in perspective during a press briefing in New Delhi.

India's main opposition Congress party registered an emphatic win in elections in the southern state of Karnataka on Saturday (13 May), defeating the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a big boost to its prospects ahead of national elections due next year.

The election is the first of five crucial state polls this year that are seen as setting the tone for parliamentary elections due in April and May 2024.