Bengaluru, Oct 8 (IANS): Karnataka Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, on Tuesday, thanked the people of Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir for supporting the party and the INDIA bloc. He claimed that the Congress party would form the government in Haryana.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said the people of the nation now want a change. "The people have supported the INDIA bloc and the Congress party," he stated.

Shivakumar expressed confidence that the Congress party would form the government in Haryana. "The people of the nation want change. Every phase has its time, and this one has shifted. The people of the country supported the NDA alliance and BJP for 12 years. Now, there is a change in the mindset, and as a result, the Congress party is poised to come to power in Haryana," he claimed.

He added, "The Congress party’s programmes were initiated in Karnataka. The people have accepted and supported our programmes. The state of Maharashtra will go to elections soon, and the country is witnessing a shift in the political landscape."

"We have introduced programmes aimed at improving people's lives without playing on their emotions. This is the prevailing mood. I am not claiming that the results in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir are definitive indicators of future elections," Shivakumar clarified.

While early trends showed the Congress party leading in Haryana, later trends indicated that, out of the total 90 seats, BJP was leading in 48, Congress in 35, INLD in two, and others in five seats. Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda dismissed the trends and said that Congress would secure an absolute majority in the Haryana Assembly elections.

In Jammu and Kashmir, out of the 90 Assembly seats, the National Conference (NC) was leading in 40, BJP in 27, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in five, and others in 10 seats.