At BJP meet, PM gives standing ovation to Karnataka people for BJP's 'record margin' victory in bypolls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the BJP parliamentary party meeting, gave a standing ovation to the people of Karnataka for voting for the BJP in the state's by-elections and expressed his gratitude to the electorate for the party's "record margin" victory.

"During the meeting, we gave a standing ovation to welcome the Prime Minister. But, the Prime Minister while congratulating Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, state ministers and BJP leadership in Karnataka, he gave a standing ovation to the people of Karnataka," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi told reporters on Wednesday after the BJP parliamentary party meeting at the Parliament Library.

"We won by a record margin and we also won two seats where we did not win before. The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to the people of Karnataka. The Prime Minister hoped that development will progress at a faster pace with a stable government in place," Joshi said while quoting Modi.

The BJP on Monday registered a thumping victory in the Karnataka by-elections, winning 12 out of 15 seats, and secured a comfortable majority in the 224-member house with the Congress managing just two seats and the JD (S) failing to open its account.

With these results, the BJP now has 117 MLAs and there are now 222 legislators in the state Assembly. The four-month-old government led by Yediyurappa now has a majority in the House, getting to the magic number of 112.

The Congress now has 68 MLAs while JD (S) has 34 legislators in the Assembly.