Karnataka election: India's Congress party gains rare victory against BJP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party loses power in the only southern state it has ruled

Congress supporters celebrate after early vote counts showed their party was on course to win elections in India's Karnataka state. AP

India's Congress party won an outright majority in the Karnataka state assembly on Saturday, dealing a major setback to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party ahead of a general election next year.

The Congress party had won 123 seats in the southern state's 224-seat assembly and was leading in 13 others, according to partial results released on the Election Commission of India website on Saturday afternoon.

The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party had won 58 seats and led in six, while the regional party Janata Dal (Secular) had 19 seats and was leading in one more.

Two smaller parties and two independent candidates won one seat each.

Mr Modi conceded defeat in a message of congratulations posted on Twitter.

"Congratulations to the Congress Party for their victory in the Karnataka Assembly polls. My best wishes to them in fulfilling people’s aspirations," Mr Modi wrote.

Karnataka was the only south Indian state ruled by Mr Modi's Hindu nationalist party.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the people of Karnataka had rejected the “politics of hate” and chosen “love and peace”.

“Karnataka elections were fought on one side with the power of crony capitalists and on the other side, it was fought on the power of poor people. This power has defeated the crony capitalists,” Mr Gandhi told the media.

“Congress stood with the poor in Karnataka. We fought on the issues of the poor and the best thing is we didn’t fight it with hatred. We fought it with peace and love, and the people of Karnataka have shown that people of this country are fond of love.”

Congress supporters celebrate in front of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office in Bengaluru. AFP

The head of the BJP government in Karnataka, Basavaraj Bommai, conceded defeat, saying his party had failed to “make the mark” and would analyse the “deficiencies and gaps” exposed by the election.

About 73 per cent of Karnataka's estimated 50 million electorate took part in Wednesday's vote.

Karnataka is the sixth-largest state in India and the results are seen as a crucial indicator ahead of the general election scheduled for early next year.

The BJP's loss comes despite Mr Modi campaigning extensively to extend his party's four-year rule in Karnataka.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to the crowd while campaigning for his Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the state elections in Karnataka. AP Photo

Congress dominated Indian politics for decades after independence but has been in decline for years. The victory in Karnataka will raise its total number of states to just four.

The Congress campaign focused on the issues of inflation and unemployment. The party promised free food grains for poor families, employment support, free travel for women in state buses, and a basic monthly allowance of 2,000 rupees ($25) to women who were officially listed as head of their families.

The party also promised to take “strong action” against the Bajrang Dal, a right-wing Hindu group, for promoting “enmity and hatred among different communities”.

The group was instrumental in staging protests against Muslim students who objected to a ban imposed last year on wearing the hijab in schools and colleges in the state.

Mr Modi called the Congress anti-Hindu for speaking against the group, which is named after Hindu deity Hanuman, and criticised the party for opposing the controversial film “The Kerala Story”.