Jayaprakash Narayan attributes the Congress' victory in Karnataka to the fact that voters had no better option.
The national president of the Lok Satta party, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, said that the Congress' victory in Karnataka should not be construed as an overall vote for the party at the national level. In a statement to the media, he pointed out that the Congress has come to power on the plank of an anti-BJP vote because of local conditions.
JP said that the Congress has gained from people's revulsion against corruption, bad governance and utter failure in key sectors, along with the split in BJP party ranks.
"The Congress, at the national level now, and in Karnataka when it had ruled the state in the past, is no different from the BJP", he expounded, "Yet, the people voted for the Congress because they have found no alternative".
JP said that voting for the Congress, the people in Karnataka have fallen from the frying pan into the fire.
"A race has already begun in Karnataka for the Chief Minister's post," he said.
He said that he hopes that "the Congress, which has won by default, will utilize this opportunity to provide good governance by choosing a person of integrity and competence as the Chief Minister of the state."
JP said that it is a matter of great concern that both Congress and BJP are mired in crises at the national level.
"The exit of a strong leader from the BJP in Karnataka and the death of a strong leader in Andhra Pradesh, along with the consolidated demand for Telengana, have respectivley posed as severe problems for the two parties," he said.
JP pointed out that in a large number of constituencies, candidates had spent around Rs. 15 crores - Rs. 20 crores each, reflecting the sad state of electoral politics.
He appealed to the Congress and the BJP to put an end to their vote-bank politics and "undemocratic tendencies". He appealed for a focus on constructive measures to bail the country out of the "economic, political and administrative quagmire that it has fallen into".
Katari Srinivasa Rao, president of the Andhra Pradesh Lok Satta Party, said that the Lok Satta, which had contested in 24 seats in Karnataka has registered encouraging results.
"It has polled about 10,000 votes in a couple of constituencies, and fared better than the JD (S) in some constituencies of Bangalore," he said.
Katari said that voters in urban conglomerations in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are looking for an alternative to the traditional parties.
The results of polls in Karnataka underline the fact that the Lok Satta has the potential to emerge as the alternative party if it strengthens itself in tune with people's expectations. (INN)