With the leads indicating that the Congress is likely to get a majority in the Karnataka assembly polls, the party on Saturday said it is now certain that it has won and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "lost" as the BJP had made its election campaign a "referendum on the PM".

The Congress was striding forward with leads in 117 seats while the BJP was ahead in 75 in Karnataka, according to Election Commission trends, as votes were counted for an election widely seen as a litmus test for both parties ahead of the 2024 parliamentary polls.

"As the results firm up in Karnataka it is now certain that the Congress has won and the PM has lost. The BJP had made its election campaign a referendum on the PM and on the state getting his 'ashirwaad'. That has been decisively rejected!" Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.

The Congress fought these elections on local issues of livelihood and food security, price rise, farmer distress, electricity supply, joblessness and corruption, he said.

"The PM injected divisiveness and attempted polarisation. The vote in Karnataka is for an engine in Bengaluru that will combine economic growth with social harmony," Ramesh said.

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