Congress leader Anand Sharma said people have begun seeing through the BJP's facade.
The Congress today cited statistics released by the Election Commission to claim a "moral defeat" for the BJP in the Maharashtra and Haryana assembly polls, maintaining that its "insensitivity" towards the poor has finally begun to have an impact on its electoral performance.
"We accept the people's mandate humbly and respectfully, but we also want to say that this is a moral defeat for the BJP. Everybody in the party's leadership, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to BJP chief Amit Shah, is cut off from ground realities," Congress leader Anand Sharma said at a press meet held hours after the BJP failed to gain an outright majority in Haryana and retained Maharashtra by a relatively low margin.
Mr Sharma pointed out that the outcome of the elections had turned out to be very different from that predicted by the exit polls, which showed the BJP (in alliance with the Shiv Sena) winning an average of 211 seats in Maharashtra's 288-member assembly and taking home 66 of Haryana's 90 seats.
"For the BJP, this is not a day to celebrate. We know they are lost in arrogance," the Congress leader said at the press meet. "The BJP misused the administration, giving rise to unemployment and forcing our economy into decline. They should know that these are the main issues for the people so far as governance is concerned."
The BJP had hinged its poll campaign in both the states on national issues such as the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir's special status, spurring allegations from the opposition that it has little to boast about in terms of local issues. PM Modi had responded with a two-word phrase: "Doob maro (drown yourselves in shame)".
The Congress leader said that although the counting of votes was still on, the results of the BJP's "anti-people policies" were already there for everybody to see. "This government is insensitive towards the poor and the unemployed," he said. "To whatever the Prime Minister and the BJP are trying to do, I will just say that they can't mislead the people of this country forever."
Mr Sharma also said that Amit Shah's claim of victory in Haryana does not hold because the BJP is short of a clear majority in the state, and has suffered a significant drop in its vote percentage. All opposition parties should come together against the BJP in the northern state because the people's verdict was against it, he added.
According to latest trends projected by the Election Commission, the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra looks set to win 159 seats -- 26 less than its count in the previous assembly election. The Congress-NCP coalition, on the other hand, seems headed for a total count of 102 seats with a gain of 17.
Haryana seems fated for a hung assembly, with the BJP projected to win 40 seats and the Congress 31. Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janata Party, which has won 10 crucial seats in the elections, could turn out to be the kingmaker in such a scenario.
Significantly, the Congress didn't succeed in winning even a single parliamentary seat in Haryana during the Lok Sabha elections.
(With inputs from Agencies)