Karnataka: Muralidhar Rao believes by-polls win will give party boost in South

On Thursday, BJP's national general secretary, Muralidhar Rao addressed BJP's landslide victory in the by-elections in Karnataka saying that this would open a door for the party in other states in the South like Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The BJP won 12 out of the total 15 seats, in the recently held Karnataka by-polls. Talking on this win, Muralidhar Rao said that this will enable Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa in running a stable government for the remaining 3.5 years of his term thereby sending a strong message of stability to the Southern states. 

Read: Karnataka bypolls: Here's how the 13 MLAs that swapped Congress for BJP fared

Rao said that the victory of Karnataka assembly by-elections will have three major outcomes for the BJP.  The first would be stability for the next 3.5 years since the people have given a full majority to the BJP led government in Karnataka. The second outcome would be Congress' decline in Karnataka which has been happening gradually. And third, would be the possibility of BJP's expansion in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh which will get a firm boost after the BJP's victory which has uplifted the morale of BJP cadres. 

Read: Karnataka CM B.S.Yediyurappa talks about BJP's victory in Karnataka by-polls

'Leadership of Congress weak'

Muralidhar Rao said that the by-poll results from Karnataka have made it clear that Congress has become weak and the people are looking forward to BJP as a viable alternative. He also said that Congress workers too were looking at BJP as a good option. "The leadership of the Congress has made the Congress very weak. Their workers are disheartened and voters have started believing that in the southern states the BJP will be a better alternative. Having a state like Karnataka under our rule will further give a boost to the BJP's expansion in the south," he said.

Read: JP Nadda on Karnataka by-polls: 'People have rejected the selfish and corrupt'

The BJP leader also added that the party's next focus would be to shake the TRS Government in Telangana saying that the BJP will now shift its energy on opposing Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in Telangana.

Read: Congress President to decide future action after 2 Karnataka state leaders resign

(With ANI inputs)