Markets of hatred have closed down & shops of love have opened: Rahul

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hailed the party’s performance in the Karnataka assembly polls as a victory of love over hate and claimed this will be replicated in other states.

With the party heading towards a comfortable majority in the southern state, Gandhi said “nafrat ka bazaar” has closed down and “mohabbat ki dukaanein” have opened in the state.

The Congress is winning 136 of the 224 assembly seats in Karnataka while the BJP has bagged 63. The Janata Dal (Secular) has 21 seats in its favour.

“I thank and congratulate the people of Karnataka, party workers and leaders,” Gandhi told a press conference here amid bursting of crackers and cheers by party workers at the party’s headquarters.

“I am happy we contested the Karnataka polls without using hate, bad language. We fought the polls with love. In Karnataka, ‘nafrat ka bazaar’ (market of hate) has closed down and ‘mohabbat ki dukaanein’ (shops of love) have opened,” he said.

In the Karnataka polls, on the one side, there was the power of crony capitalists and on the other, there was the strength of poor people, Gandhi said.

The strength of the poor has defeated the power of crony capitalists and this will happen in all states, he claimed.

Rahul expressed happiness that the party raised people’s issues and ran a positive campaign in Karnataka.

The victory also comes at a time when Opposition leaders like Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and NCP chief Sharad Pawar are making renewed efforts to forge unity among the non-NDA parties to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections next year.

“Beginning of the end for BJP before 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” said West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC head Mamata Banerjee.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said a Congress victory sends the message that the “end of the BJP’s negative, communal and corrupt politics” has begun.

“This is a strict mandate of a new positive India against inflation, unemployment, corruption and animosity,” he added.

Welcoming the Congress’ performance in Karnataka polls, the ruling CPI(M) and opposition parties in Kerala said it was an indication of public sentiment against BJP’s alleged divisive and communal politics.

“Pro-poor promises and secular stance helped Congress to score the historic Karnataka victory. It urges them to learn the necessary lessons and to be more responsible in national politics. Modi is never invincible. If all secular forces are united, 2024 will see the end of BJP Raj,” said Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Binoy Viswam.

Attacking the BJP, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin listed a slew of issues that he claimed worked against the saffron party.

“Congrats @INCIndia on the 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.

“The landmass of the Dravidian family stands clear of BJP. Now let us all work together to win 2024 to restore democracy and constitutional values in India,” he said in a tweet.

JD(U), which is enthused by its leader Nitish Kumar playing a “national role” by uniting parties opposed to the BJP, but with the caveat that he was himself not a claimant for Prime Ministership said Karnataka is now going to be “BJP-mukt”.

“In Karnataka, the BJP tried every trick in the book and played the communal card to the hilt. Even the Prime Minister campaigned in a manner that was unbecoming of his high office. But all these tricks failed, under the weight of the corruption of the BJP government in Karnataka which is now going to be BJP-mukt,” tweeted JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh, alias Lalan.

He added: “In the recent past, the BJP has been ousted from power in Karnataka and the Delhi Nagar Nigam. This year, Madhya Pradesh shall be BJP-mukt and so will be the country in 2024 just wait.”

Describing the assembly poll results as a “ray of hope”, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said she hoped that the rest of the country will also reject “communal politics” and vote for its development and prosperity.

“I hope people across the country will also reject communal politics and vote for the country’s development and prosperity,” Mufti added.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra tweeted: “Thank you Karnataka for choosing LPG over Bajrangbaliji.”

CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya also thanked the people of the state for the mandate.

“Thank you #Karnataka for giving such a fitting rebuff to not just the corrupt and non-performing Bommai regime but to the hate-filled and arrogant Modi-Shah-Yogi campaign. It has set the stage for the forthcoming elections and encouraged every defender of democracy across India,” he said in a tweet.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel said the BJP’s attempts to polarise the polls proved futile and people’s mandate in the southern state shows that ‘Bajrangbali’ is with the grand old party.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said Karnataka has chosen the politics of development over communal politics.