‘If Congress had joined hands with JD(S), results would have been different,’ says Mamata Banerjee
Various chief ministers, including Mehbooba Mufti, Vasundhara Raje and Raman Singh, congratulated the BJP for the victory.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that the outcome of the Karnataka Assembly elections would have been different if the Congress had got into an alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular).
The Bharatiya Janata Party has so far won 24 seats and is leading in 81 seats while the Congress has won four seats and is leading in 71.
“Congratulations to the winners of the Karnataka elections,” Banerjee said on Twitter. “For those who lost, fight back. If Congress had gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the result would have been different. Very different.”
Ahead of the elections in Karnataka, Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress chief, had said that JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy would become the next chief minister of Karnataka if the state was to see a hung House. “The role of JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda will become crucial in such a situation,” Banerjee had said in an interview, according to the Hindustan Times. “He can win 28 to 30 seats. I think his son will become the next chief minister.”
Meanwhile, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah invoked writer William Shakespeare to comment on the voters of Karnataka for voting for the BJP, as many other states in the recent Assembly elections have. “Et tu Karnataka,” he said on Twitter.
Congratulations to the winners of the Karnataka elections. For those who lost, fight back. If Congress had gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the result would have been different. Very different
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 15, 2018
Et tu #Karnataka.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 15, 2018
Historian Ramachandra Guha said if the Congress lost the elections it will be humiliating for incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. “If these trends hold, the Karnataka elections are a major humiliation for the chief minister,” he said on Twitter. “But they are also a serious setback to his party president [Rahul Gandhi]. But while the voters have thrown out Siddaramaiah, will a single Congress leader pose a sharp question to Rahul Gandhi?”
Raj Thackeray called the results a victory for the Electronic Voting Machine.
Union ministers Smriti Irani, Suresh Prabhu, Prakash Javadekar, and various chief ministers, including Mehbooba Mufti, Vasundhara Raje and Raman Singh, congratulated the BJP for the victory.
Hearty congratulations to @BJP4India for their stellar performance in Karnataka. #KarnatakaVerdict
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) May 15, 2018
History in the making as BJP emerges as the largest party in #Karnataka Assembly. Congratulate our inspiring leaders PM Shri @narendramodi and Shri @AmitShah ji who worked tirelessly to turn the tide. Karnataka has spoken! #KarnatakaElections2018
— Vasundhara Raje (@VasundharaBJP) May 15, 2018
The @AmitShah magic works again. Toiling day and night, from district to district, booth to booth; Hats off to him! Under the leadership of PM @narendramodi ji, our Party President @AmitShah ji creates history yet again in Karnataka.
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) May 15, 2018
#KarnatakaVerdict is another stamp of public approval to #Leadership of Hon. PM @narendramodi ji and @amitshah ji. Congratulations to all @BJP4India @BJP4Karnataka Karyakartas who put in untiring efforts for this victory!
— Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) May 15, 2018