Karnataka result is victory of suffering endured by Rahul Gandhi: Congress

Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi on Saturday said that the result of the Karnataka Assembly polls was "victory of the suffering" endured by Rahul Gandhi during the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra.

"This is the victory of Karnataka people against the Prime Minister and defeat of the BJP's politics over religion. This is the victory of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi against the narrative of PM Modi and Amit Shah. This is the victory of all suffering endured by Rahul Gandhi during Bharat Jodo Yatra," Pratapgarhi said while talking to ANI.

Congress appeared to be consolidating its lead after crossing the halfway mark in Karnataka assembly polls with the party leading on 117 seats according to early trends of results.

According to the latest data from Election Commission, the BJP is leading on 75 seats, Janata Dal (Secular) on 25, Independents on 5 and Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha and Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha on one each.

The party is maintaining almost a seven per cent lead over the BJP in vote share.

The counting of votes began at 8 am amid tight security across the state.

Trends are now available for all 224 assembly seats in the state. The Congress has a vote share of 43 per cent while it is 36 per cent for BJP and 13 per cent for JD(S). The halfway mark in assembly is 113.

There were celebrations at Congress headquarters in Delhi in anticipation of victory.

However, reacting to the trends, Imran called it a "loss" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than the BJP as a whole as the PM indulged in the poll campaigning at large.

"It is a big loss for PM Modi more than the BJP as a whole. The celebration across the county shows how much it is important. It will impact national politics till the 2024 general elections. The BJP had converted Karnataka into a laboratory of hatred be it the issue of hijab, halal or reservation while people saw a contrast in Rahul Gandhi's politics and voted for our party," he added.