The thumping victory of Congress in Karnataka has buoyed the party leaders in Kerala. The victory has come as a much-needed shot in the arm for the Kerala unit of the Congress.
Ramesh Chennithala, who had campaigned in Karnataka for two weeks, said the victory in Karnataka has proved the Congress can take on the BJP and Rahul Gandhi can take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “This is a mandate for Rahul Gandhi to take on Modi,” Chennithala said.
Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said the result would reflect in the next election in Kerala, in which “the LDF government will also bite the dust.”
KPCC president K Sudhakaran said that the result of the Karnataka election, which has pushed the BJP out from South India, has raised the enthusiasm of secular forces in the country
Veteran Congress leader A K Antony termed the outcome as a big blow to the BJP’s vendetta politics.
Talking to reporters here, he exuded confidence that if all secular forces joined hands, the Modi regime can be wiped out in next year’s General Elections.
The CPI-M seems cautious of interpreting the Karnataka election results as the precursor of a Congress-led national alternative to the BJP.
CPI-M Kerala Secretary M V Govindan said that Karnataka election result cannot be considered as a pro-Congress trend for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
“The CPM is happy that with the defeat in Karnataka, South India has become BJP-free. But Karnataka election results did not indicate a comeback of the Congress on its own,” said Govindan.
He said the Congress on its own cannot free India from the BJP. In the Lok Sabha elections, local factors will influence the voters in each state, Govindan said.
In the 2021 Assembly polls, a large chunk of minority votes had polled in favour of the CPI-M. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the minority votes were largely gone for the Congress–led UDF and they won 19 out of 20 Lok Sabha seats.