Karnataka election results would have been different if Cong, JD(S) joined hands, says Mamata

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday congratulated the BJP on its likely victory in the Karnataka election, but pointed out that the outcome would have been “very different” if the Congress had joined hands with the Janata Dal (Secular).

Banerjee, however, did not specifically name the saffron party. “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,” she tweeted around 11am.

Banerjee had predicted barely four days ago that JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy would become the next chief minister of Karnataka after the elections throw up a hung house in keeping with exit poll predictions. “I think there will be a hung situation in Karnataka, with both the Congress and BJP getting a similar number of seats. The role of JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda will become crucial in such a situation. He can win 28-30 seats. I think his son will become the next chief minister,” Banerjee had said in an interview with a Bengali television channel.

The Karnataka results are being seen as a setback for the Trinamool Congress chief, who has been trying to cobble up an anti-BJP front of regional parties in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Reiterating her arguments for the federal front on May 11, Banerjee had said that next year’s general elections will witness an erosion of the BJP’s support base. She also predicted that the BJP “will go downhill” in the Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh elections this year.

“If Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav unite in Uttar Pradesh, around 50 to 60 seats will go to the alliance. I believe Lalu Prasad will do well in Bihar, no matter how many times you put him in jail. The DMK will be a factor in Tamil Nadu. I will not be surprised if they win 38 out of 39 seats,” she stated.

The Bengal chief minister claimed that the BJP cannot win the elections in Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha and Tamil Nadu because they have strong regional forces. “If these regional parties unite to form the government, there will be political stability in the country. Regional parties can make the Congress and BJP rectify their flaws,” she added.