Result puts Congress in state of complete shock

After a confident and sustained campaign to retain Karnataka, yet another poll defeat has left the grand old party of the country, Congress, in a complete state of shock. The results are not just a snub to Chief Minister K Siddaramiah but also to Congress president Rahul Gandhi as it will be now difficult for him to lead any united opposition front against the Narendra Modi-led BJP juggernaut. Rahul's image was enhanced after leading his party to a ‘respectable’ performance in the home turf of Modi, Gujarat. 

Congress was fighting the polls on the basis of considerations of caste and region. Siddaramaiah declared Lingayats as a religion separate from Hinduism that made it obvious that the move was just to gain an electoral advantage and nothing else. Congress government also created a separate flag for the State. The Government also created a controversy by pitting Kannada against Hindi. All this was just before the state Assembly elections. A similar "futile" exercise was done by Congress when the UPA II decided  to divide Andhra Pradesh and carve out Telangana as a separate state just before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.