"Corruption Was Karnataka's Main Issue, It Helped Congress": Sachin Pilot

Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Saturday said the BJP should take a lesson from its defeat in the Karnataka Assembly polls and focus on development issues, adding that the people have sent out a clear message that they will not vote on the basis of "religion or caste".

Speaking to ANI on Saturday, after the Congress raced past the majority mark in Karnataka, Mr Pilot said, "The lesson that the BJP government at the Centre should draw from the defeat in Karnataka is that if they don't focus on development issues and only whip up issues around caste, religion and mandir-masjid, people will not vote for them."

He added that the alleged corruption in the previous BJP government was the main issue in the Karnataka polls and the Congress, which built their campaign around it, reaped the desired electoral dividend.

"The results make it clear that the people of Karnataka had resolved to remove the 40-per cent commission government in the state. Corruption was the main issue in this election and it helped the Congress. Our focus now is to provide a clean and stable government to the people of the state and make good on our promises to provide jobs and ensure efficient delivery of services," Sachin Pilot said.

Earlier, on Saturday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hailed the party's victory in Karnataka saying that the people of the state defeated the "politics of hate".

Addressing reporters at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, Rahul Gandhi said the Congress stands in support of the poor.

"I want to thank all the party leaders and workers in Karnataka. Karnataka mein Nafrat ki bazaar band hui hai, Mohabbat ki dukaane khuli hai (the politics of hate has been defeated in Karnataka and love has won). We fought the polls on issues of the poor. We did not fight this battle with hatred and wrong words. The Karnataka results will be replicated in other states," Mr Gandhi said.

According to the latest counting trends shared by the Election Commission, the Congress has won 134 seats in Karanataka and leading in 2 while the BJP has won 64 so far and is leading in 1 in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly.

The run-up to the single-phased polls on May 10 saw a high-decibel campaign between the BJP and the Congress.

The state saw robust polling for 224 Assembly seats, with the eventual turnout recorded at 73.29 per cent.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)