The Congress said on Tuesday, a day before voting in the Karnataka Assembly elections, that it ran a campaign that was “positive and development-centric with a vision for the Kannadigas” while the BJP sought to “distract, divide, and deceive” the electorate.
On Monday, the loud election campaign for the 224-member Karnataka Assembly came to a close. Three political parties—the Congress, the BJP, and the Janata Dal (Secular), led by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda—are vying for control of the state.
On May 13, the results will be made public.
“The Karnataka Congress party has led a successful, development-focused campaign with a goal to empower all Kannadigas. In contrast, the BJP’s election campaign solely attempted to divert, polarise, and mislead the electorate, according to Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh.
“Our five promises will guarantee that every family has access to a safety net of help from the government. Development projects relevant to the area are promised in our region-specific pledges for Kalyana Karnataka, Kitturu Karnataka, Karavali/Malnad Karnataka, Hale Mysuru, and Namma Bengaluru, the official added.
Ramesh said on Twitter with a picture of a newspaper ad outlining the “five guarantees” of the Congress, “Our promises to farmers and the fisherfolk community will finally provide some relief from soaring price rise as well as supplement their income over the next five years.”
In Karnataka, the only state in southern India where the BJP is in power, top Congress leaders waged a vigorous campaign to unseat the saffron party.
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi spoke at many election rallies while Sonia Gandhi addressed a gathering in Hubbali. The whole Gandhi family was on a campaign train across the state. Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Congress, spoke at more than 40 news conferences and rallies, some of which were co-hosted with the Gandhis.