'Power tussle' in Karnataka Cong to intensify after Bihar polls debacle, claims BJP
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Bengaluru (PTI): The opposition BJP in Karnataka on Friday predicted that the "power tussle" within the ruling Congress party is likely to intensify in the coming days.
According to BJP, with the Congress central leadership "weakened" by the Bihar poll debacle, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would emerge stronger. This would make the issue of a potential CM change in the state more contentious.
Speculations about a possible change in leadership in the state have been circulating within political circles, particularly as the Congress government approaches the halfway mark of its five-year term in November, a period some are calling the "November revolution."
"If anyone in Congress is happy today and in a mood to celebrate, it is Siddaramaiah. He will be happy... With the Congress central leadership becoming weak following the Bihar results, Siddaramaiah will grow stronger," R Ashoka, Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, said.
"He has been with other parties in the past, so he knows how to handle things. He will now play the game with Rahul Gandhi and the Congress leadership, he added.
Speaking to reporters at the BJP office, Ashoka said that internal rifts within Congress would deepen, and issues related to power transfer would gain momentum.
"Siddaramaiah is happy. He has strengthened his position as CM and firmly fixed himself to his chair, ready to face those challenging him," he said.
There has been ongoing speculation within Congress about a potential leadership change, with some citing a "power-sharing" agreement between Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar.
Ashoka pointed to a recent comment from Shivakumar, who had suggested that a win for Congress and its allies in Bihar would benefit him. "But with these results, it seems like the endgame for him," Ashoka remarked.
Other BJP leaders, including senior MLA C N Ashwath Narayan and Bangalore Central MP P C Mohan, who were present at the press conference, shared similar views, asserting that the "power tussle" within Congress would intensify in the coming days.
BJP leaders also claimed that the NDA's strong performance in Bihar would strengthen the party in Karnataka as well.
"After two-and-a-half years, Karnataka will see similar results to those in Bihar. There is maladministration and Muslim appeasement under CM Siddaramaiah. Soon, the people of Karnataka will teach a lesson to the Congress party," Ashoka said.
Ashoka further claimed that Congress had lost 99 per cent of the elections it fought under Rahul Gandhi's leadership. "He (Gandhi) has become an 'iron leg' (bad luck causing failure) for the Congress party," he added.
The NDA, comprising the BJP, JD(U), and other parties, is on track for a landslide victory in the Bihar assembly elections, with the alliance leading in 204 of the 243 seats.
Senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, addressing media in Shivamogga, credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for the NDA's win in Bihar.
He assured that similar efforts would be made to secure a BJP victory in Karnataka in the future.
"Congress's debacle proves that people have not accepted Rahul Gandhi's leadership," Yediyurappa said.
State BJP chief B Y Vijayendra added that Congress's poor performance, with the party pushed to single digits in both seats and strike rate, showed how voters had rejected the party’s politics of excuses and entitlement.
"The same fate awaits them in Karnataka," he said.
In a post on 'X', Vijayendra wrote, "This verdict also proves that the people of Bihar rejected Congress and its allies’ repeated attempts to question and delegitimise our electoral system. Their narrative has no takers on the ground."
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Gandhi a way of thinking which ideology of hate unsuccessfully tried to erase: Rahul
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said Mahatma Gandhi is not just a person, but a way of thinking that an empire, an ideology of hatred and arrogance of power unsuccessfully tried to erase at different points in time.
Terming Mahatma Gandhi the "immortal soul of India", the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha paid tributes to the Father of the Nation on his death anniversary, saying that along with Independence, he gave the nation a fundamental principle that the power of truth is greater than the power of authority.
"Mahatma Gandhi is not just a person, but a way of thinking that an empire, an ideology of hatred, and an arrogance of power have all unsuccessfully tried to erase at different points in time," he said in a post in Hindi on X.
"The Father of the Nation gave us, along with Independence, the fundamental principle that the power of truth is greater than the power of authority and that non-violence and courage are greater than violence and fear," Rahul Gandhi said.
This way of thinking cannot be extinguished, because Gandhi is immortal in the soul of India, he added.
Rahul Gandhi also paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Gandhi Smriti at Tees January Marg here on Martyrs' Day, remembering the life and sacrifice of the Father of the Nation.
"His legacy of truth, courage, and compassion continues to guide our path and remind us of an India we must keep striving for -- just, harmonious, and united," the former Congress chief said in a Facebook post.
Sharing lines of a Bhajan that Mahatma Gandhi used to sing, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "The hatred that separated us from Bapu, its solution also lies in Bapu's path. The light of truth, the power of non-violence, and the compassion of love. Homage to the Father of the Nation on Martyr's Day."
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary.
Party general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, recalled two separate letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1948 to Syama Prasad Mookerjee, in which they strongly criticised and raised questions on the activities of the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS.
"Both are damning indictments of the self-declared custodians of nationalism. And to think that there is a Lok Sabha MP wedded to that ideology and who was blessed by the PM himself, who said that he could not choose between Gandhi and Godse. His mindset is revealing," Ramesh said on X, in an apparent reference to BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay's controversial remarks in 2024.
Ramesh also shared a link to Nehru's address on All India Radio on the night of January 30, 1948, after Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.
In his letter to Mookerjee, Nehru had said the Hindu Mahasabha had held meetings in Pune, Ahmednagar and Delhi in defiance of the ban order.
"Speeches were delivered that Mahatma Gandhi was an impediment, and the sooner he died, the better it would be for the country. The RSS has behaved in an even worse way, and we have collected a mass of information about its very objectionable activities," Nehru had said in his letter.
Ramesh also shared a screenshot of Patel's letter to Mookerjee in which the former criticised the activities of the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha.
Paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi, Congress general secretary in charge of the organisation, K C Venugopal, said that on this day in 1948, the greatest soul to ever guide India and the world was "snatched away from us".
"Today, on Martyrs Day, let's remember Bapu's eternal teachings of Satya and Ahimsa, and warn ourselves of the culture of hate and violence that gave rise to his assassins," he said on X.
"In 2026, the threat remains of their ideological descendants eager to wipe out Gandhiji from our national consciousness. Repeatedly, we see those in the ruling regime evangelise his killers, encourage hate, and are now erasing entire schemes named after Mahatma Gandhi," Venugopal said.
The powers that be may have a delusion that they will succeed in diminishing Bapu through such acts, he said. "But Mahatma Gandhi and his values are deeply embedded in India's psyche, and no amount of effort from those who oppose him can ever succeed in erasing his towering legacy.
Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on this day in 1948. India observes the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi as Martyrs' Day to honour the life and legacy of the nation's foremost leader and his ultimate sacrifice for peace, justice, and freedom.
महात्मा गांधी एक व्यक्ति नहीं, एक सोच हैं - वह सोच जिसे कभी एक साम्राज्य ने, कभी एक नफ़रत की विचारधारा ने और कभी अहंकारी सत्ता ने मिटाने की असफल कोशिश की।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 30, 2026
मगर राष्ट्रपिता ने हमें आज़ादी के साथ यह मूलमंत्र दिया कि सत्ता की ताक़त से बड़ी सत्य की शक्ति होती है - और हिंसा व भय से… pic.twitter.com/Hm1frzS3jW
