Karnataka - Bangalore   

Ullal victory cheers Congress

Special Correspondent

`A pointer to the State's political future'

BANGALORE: The Congress on Tuesday said the victory of its candidate in the Ullal byelection was a pointer to the State's political future and claimed that the party would win the next general elections to the Legislative Assembly.

Addressing a press conference here after the Congress candidate was declared elected, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president M. Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly N. Dharam Singh said the results of the Ullal byelection showed that the people had rejected the Janata Dal (S)-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition.

Mr. Singh described this as a "befitting reply" given by secular forces to the communal clashes that rocked the region some time ago. He said the victory in Ullal had increased the political strength of the party as well as the morale of its party workers. "Now we are ready to face any polls," he declared.

He said the JD(S) had acted like the B team of the BJP in the Ullal byelection. The debacle of the coalition partners was a loss of face for Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy who had camped in Ullal for some time to campaign for his party candidate.

He said the defeat of the coalition candidates indicated that voters of Ullal had not accepted the claims of the ruling combine that they had presented a progressive Budget and were striving for the development of the State.

Vote share up

Mr. Kharge said the Congress had increased its vote share from 45.2 per cent to 48.10 per cent. He attributed the victory to the united efforts by several senior party leaders, including M. Veerappa Moily, B. Janardhana Poojary and Siddaramaiah.

Party workers burst firecrackers in front of the KPCC office to celebrate the victory.

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