Bengaluru: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday held a meeting with state party leaders and workers in Karnataka's Bengaluru. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar were also present at the meeting. This comes after the declaration of the Lok Sabha poll results in which the Congress party increased its tally from previous elections by bagging 99 seats against 52 in the 2019 elections. Meanwhile, speaking about Gandhi's address to the party workers, leader HK Patil told ANI, "The message was loud and clear that we should strengthen the party." In the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka, the Congress bagged nine seats with the vote share being 45.43 percent. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, bagged 17 seats gaining a vote share of 46.06 percent. According to the Election Commission of India, the BJP won 240 seats, much lower than its 2019 tally of 303. The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong improvement, winning 99 seats. While the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 292 seats, the INDIA bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing stiff competition, and defying all predictions.
