The Congress won a thumping victory in Karnataka to wrest power after a seven year gap, crushing the BJP in a key election ahead of next year's Lok Sabha ballot. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi voiced their satisfaction over the Karnataka result that ended five years of tumultuous rule by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the southern state.

The Congress victory "is a clear result against the ideology of the BJP", Manmohan Singh said in New Delhi. "The people of the country know what's what and they will reject the BJP ideology as the result in Karnataka shows." The BJP, which stormed to power in Karnataka in 2008 with the hope of expanding rapidly in south India, was routed. Officials said it may finish along with the Janata Dal-Secular (J-S) at 39 seats each. At one point, the BJP trailed behind the JD-S at the third spot.

The Congress had ruled Karnataka on its own until April 2004. It later governed the state with JD-S backing till February 2006. The state slipped into JD-S and BJP hands after that.

Congress leaders gloated and said they had expected a victory because of the way the BJP ruled Karnataka in the last five years, with infighting seeing three changes in the chief minister's post.

The BJP government was also mired in corruption charges. Finally, BS Yeddyurappa, who led the BJP to victory in 2008 and become its first chief minister, quit the party and formed the rival Karnataka Janata Party (KJP). Although the KJP is expected to bag only eight seats in a house of 225, it played a major role in splitting the pro-BJP vote.

JD-S leader HD Kumaraswamy, who had hoped perhaps to be kingmaker, said he was happy to win almost 40 seats. "We will be happy to be the main opposition. We will play our role well," the former chief minister said.

The Samajwadi Party opened its account for the first time in Karnataka, winning the Channapatna assembly seat some 60 km from Bangalore. The Karnataka result was a morale booster for the Congress at a time the BJP has refused to let parliament run demanding the resignation of central ministers Ashwani Kumar and Pawan Kumar Bansal for impropriety.

The victory was just what the party needed ahead of the general elections due in 2014 but which some say could be held earlier. Said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi: "We are winning because people have seen through and rejected the BJP."

The Karnataka rout saw several BJP leaders lose, as the party fared poorly both in urban and rural areas all across the state. Karnataka had recorded the second highest polling of 71.29% in the last 35 years after 71.90% in 1978. The Congress is not in power in the state for about seven years now.

Reactions on Karnataka poll result trends:

Ravi Shankar Prasad: This accidental fluke victory of the Congress (is) because of the split in BJP votes.

Kapil Sibal: It looks like the BJP will meet the same fate in the General Elections. They will remain in third place in the general elections as well.

Manish Tewari said: The people of Karnataka have voted. If you really look back, over the manner in which Parliament has been disrupted in the last fortnight it is very evident that the entire charade was orchestrated for the Karnataka elections.

HD Kumaraswamy, JDS state president: I blame the media for our defeat and Congress is becoming bigger party. Media did propaganda against us and provoked people to go against us. We respect people's mandate and accept their verdict and we would sit in the opposition party.

BJP leaders Rajiv Pratap Rudy: Karnataka is a loss, we are upset about it but we knew it would happen.

He, however, rather indirectly defended BJP leader and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and his inability to swing votes for the party in the state, saying: "When does any political party say that their leader has a magic wand? What is wrong if a leader has a magic wand?"

K Siddaramaiah is the to be Karnataka's new Chief Minister. The 121 Congress MLAs elected by the people of the state voted via secret ballot to elect him this evening. Mr Siddaramaiah won the backing of a majority 75 MLAs. Governor H Bhardwaj has invited Mr Siddaramaiah to form the government. Addressing the press after his election, Mr Siddaramaiah said that the immediate challenge is to put the state's administration the right track.

Mr Siddaramaiah is a backward caste leader from the Kuruba community with a big support base, especially in the Old Mysore region in the south.

He has been Opposition leader and was among those who scripted the Congress' successful campaign. He is a five-time MLA and represents the Varuna constituency in Mysore district. Once part of the Janata Dal (Secular) and an HD Deve Gowda protege, Mr Siddaramaiah has been a Congressman for only about six years.

Mr Siddaramaiah edged Union minister Mallikarjun Kharge, his closest contender for the post. A Congressman all his political life, Mr Kharge has registered a formidable electoral record - he has won nine straight times from the Gulbarga region in north Karnataka. The Dalit leader has always been in the running for the Chief Minister's job, but like before, lost out this time too.

A central Congress team headed by Defence Minister AK Antony oversaw the election of the new Chief Minister. The team included junior sports minister Jitendra Singh, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Madhusudan Mistry, and AICC general secretary Luizinho Faleiro.

Report by Sub Editor Sachin Naik from Bangalore

The Congress won a thumping victory in Karnataka to wrest power after a seven year gap, crushing the BJP in a key election ahead of next year's Lok Sabha ballot. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi voiced their satisfaction over the Karnataka result that ended five years of tumultuous rule by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the southern state.

The Congress victory "is a clear result against the ideology of the BJP", Manmohan Singh said in New Delhi. "The people of the country know what's what and they will reject the BJP ideology as the result in Karnataka shows." The BJP, which stormed to power in Karnataka in 2008 with the hope of expanding rapidly in south India, was routed. Officials said it may finish along with the Janata Dal-Secular (J-S) at 39 seats each. At one point, the BJP trailed behind the JD-S at the third spot.

The Congress had ruled Karnataka on its own until April 2004. It later governed the state with JD-S backing till February 2006. The state slipped into JD-S and BJP hands after that.

Congress leaders gloated and said they had expected a victory because of the way the BJP ruled Karnataka in the last five years, with infighting seeing three changes in the chief minister's post.

The BJP government was also mired in corruption charges. Finally, BS Yeddyurappa, who led the BJP to victory in 2008 and become its first chief minister, quit the party and formed the rival Karnataka Janata Party (KJP). Although the KJP is expected to bag only eight seats in a house of 225, it played a major role in splitting the pro-BJP vote.

JD-S leader HD Kumaraswamy, who had hoped perhaps to be kingmaker, said he was happy to win almost 40 seats. "We will be happy to be the main opposition. We will play our role well," the former chief minister said.

The Samajwadi Party opened its account for the first time in Karnataka, winning the Channapatna assembly seat some 60 km from Bangalore. The Karnataka result was a morale booster for the Congress at a time the BJP has refused to let parliament run demanding the resignation of central ministers Ashwani Kumar and Pawan Kumar Bansal for impropriety.

The victory was just what the party needed ahead of the general elections due in 2014 but which some say could be held earlier. Said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi: "We are winning because people have seen through and rejected the BJP."

The Karnataka rout saw several BJP leaders lose, as the party fared poorly both in urban and rural areas all across the state. Karnataka had recorded the second highest polling of 71.29% in the last 35 years after 71.90% in 1978. The Congress is not in power in the state for about seven years now.

Reactions on Karnataka poll result trends:

Ravi Shankar Prasad: This accidental fluke victory of the Congress (is) because of the split in BJP votes.

Kapil Sibal: It looks like the BJP will meet the same fate in the General Elections. They will remain in third place in the general elections as well.

Manish Tewari said: The people of Karnataka have voted. If you really look back, over the manner in which Parliament has been disrupted in the last fortnight it is very evident that the entire charade was orchestrated for the Karnataka elections.

HD Kumaraswamy, JDS state president: I blame the media for our defeat and Congress is becoming bigger party. Media did propaganda against us and provoked people to go against us. We respect people's mandate and accept their verdict and we would sit in the opposition party.

BJP leaders Rajiv Pratap Rudy: Karnataka is a loss, we are upset about it but we knew it would happen.

He, however, rather indirectly defended BJP leader and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and his inability to swing votes for the party in the state, saying: "When does any political party say that their leader has a magic wand? What is wrong if a leader has a magic wand?"

K Siddaramaiah is the to be Karnataka's new Chief Minister. The 121 Congress MLAs elected by the people of the state voted via secret ballot to elect him this evening. Mr Siddaramaiah won the backing of a majority 75 MLAs. Governor H Bhardwaj has invited Mr Siddaramaiah to form the government. Addressing the press after his election, Mr Siddaramaiah said that the immediate challenge is to put the state's administration the right track.

Mr Siddaramaiah is a backward caste leader from the Kuruba community with a big support base, especially in the Old Mysore region in the south.

He has been Opposition leader and was among those who scripted the Congress' successful campaign. He is a five-time MLA and represents the Varuna constituency in Mysore district. Once part of the Janata Dal (Secular) and an HD Deve Gowda protege, Mr Siddaramaiah has been a Congressman for only about six years.

Mr Siddaramaiah edged Union minister Mallikarjun Kharge, his closest contender for the post. A Congressman all his political life, Mr Kharge has registered a formidable electoral record - he has won nine straight times from the Gulbarga region in north Karnataka. The Dalit leader has always been in the running for the Chief Minister's job, but like before, lost out this time too.

A central Congress team headed by Defence Minister AK Antony oversaw the election of the new Chief Minister. The team included junior sports minister Jitendra Singh, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Madhusudan Mistry, and AICC general secretary Luizinho Faleiro.

Report by Sub Editor Sachin Naik from Bangalore