Former Tripura Chief Minister and CPI(M) politburo member Manik Sarkar on asserted that the assembly poll outcome in Karnataka is a big defeat for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is branded as face of BJP.

In the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, the Congress won 135 seats, while the ruling BJP secured 66 seats.

Reacting over the outcome of Karnataka poll results with media persons, Sarkar said that the Karnataka result is also a big defeat for Prime Minister Modi, who projected himself as the saviour of the BJP. Despite all his efforts in the poll campaign, 64 % people voted against the BJP, said Sarkar and added that during the months long campaign Prime Minister tried to ensure victory of BJP and attended dozens of  poll rallies and has tried to convince people that voting for BJP means voting for Modi.

Congratulating the people of Karnataka for the decisive mandate, Sarkar said the Bharat Jodo Yatra' of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi went in favour of the party in the elections. He also said that the electors in Karnataka also took exception to the way in which Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as an MP and forcefully evicted from his government quarters.

He alleged that  BJP won the election in Gujarat by playing the communal card, while it suffered defeat in Himachal Pradesh, and lost in Delhi's urban body polls, too. In Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram, the party won only 46 seats out of 180. In Tripura, it lost 11 per cent vote share, said Sarkar.