Victory & defeat natural in democracy: K'taka CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru, Dec 3 (IANS) Reacting to the Congress' setbacks in three of four states, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said victory and defeat are natural in democracy.

Interacting with mediapersons, he said: "Political parties need to learn from the defeats. We don't get bogged down by defeats or get elated with success."

Congress has got a clear majority in Telangana while it suffered setbacks in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

"Telangana is our neighbouring state, and there is a big role in the success of the guarantee schemes of the Karnataka government. The Congress leaders of the state have also worked hard," he said, adding: "No one expected that Congress will make it to the power in Telangana."

"Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra galvanized the party workers. The campaigning was done in a planned manner. As the Karnataka government had delivered on guarantee schemes, Telangana voters trusted the Congress," Siddaramaiah said.

He further said that the "internal adjustments with the BJP has backfired on the BRS, and the voters lost faith".

"In Rajasthan and Chattisgarh, anti-incumbency had proved to be a setback for Congress," he said.