"Bazaar of hatred shut...,"Rahul Gandhi says strength defeated power in Karnataka

New Delhi [India], May 13 (ANI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hailed the party's victory in Karnataka assembly polls and said that people of the State defeated the politics of hate.
The Congress crossed the halfway mark in the trends and is well set to form the government in the state.
Addressing reporters at the Congress headquarters here in the national capital Rahul Gandhi said that the Congress stood in support of the poor. "The poor defeated crony capitalists in Karnataka. What I really liked about this election is that we did not fight the battle with hatred. We fought the elections with love...," he said.
"I want to thank all the party leaders and workers in Karnataka. Karnataka mein Nafrat ki bazaar band hui hai, Mohabbat ki dukaane khuli hai. We fought on the issues of the poor. We did not fight this battle using hatred and wrong words. This will happen in every state," Rahul Gandhi told the mediapersons here.
Rahul Gandhi coined the 'Nafrat ki bazaar band hui hai, Mohabbat ki dukaane khuli hai' phrase
"during the Bharat Jodo Yatra which he undertook last year and ended this year in Srinagar.
"Poor people defeated crony capitalists in Karnataka. We didn't fight this battle using hatred..." he said.
Earlier, Congress leader Siddaramaiah today said with the mandate for the party in the Karnataka Assembly elections he hopes for Rahul Gandhi to become the prime minister of the country.
The Congress leader hoped that Rahul Gandhi, who was the prime ministerial candidate of the Congress in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, becomes the Prime Minister in 2024.
Describing the results of the Karnataka Assembly polls as a mandate against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Siddaramaiah said that it would act as a "stepping stone" to the Lok Sabha election slated next year.
"The result of this election is a stepping stone to the Lok Sabha election. I hope all non-BJP parties come together and see that BJP is defeated and I also hope Rahul Gandhi may become PM of the country," Siddaramaiah said.
"It is a mandate against Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and JP Nadda. The PM had come to Karnataka 20 times, no PM in the past campaigned like this," Siddaramaiah said. (ANI)