Mumbai (ANI): As the counting trends put the Congress firmly on course to come to power in Karnataka, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and former Maharashtra chief minister Sharad Pawar on Saturday claimed that the results “present a picture” of next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party, Pawar claimed that the people have given a “strong verdict” against the party.

“Success and failure can be understood. But the role of defeating the BJP in Karnataka was taken up by the people there. I congratulate the people of Karnataka and the Congress. They have taught BJP a lesson. Now this process will be done across the country,” Sharad Pawar said while addressing a press conference here on Saturday.

Slamming the BJP, he accused the party of toppling governments by “breaking MLAs” in the states where it doesn’t have power.

“In recent times, BJP has used the formula of snatching power by breaking the MLAs in the state where Opposition parties are in power. They did the same in Karnataka. We all saw what Eknath Shinde did in Maharashtra.

The former CM added, “The same was done in Madhya Pradesh under the leadership of Kamal Nath. Even in Goa, when the BJP did not have a majority, it broke the MLA and took over the state. This is a new method being implemented by using tool wealth”.

The NCP chief further claimed that BJP has lost the “majority of states” in the country, which “presents a picture” of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections the next year.

“BJP doesn’t have governments in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Jharkhand, Punjab, West Bengal. Hence, BJP is out of power in the majority of the states. We can get an idea of the picture that will be seen in the 2024 elections through the Karnataka elections,” the veteran leader said.

Pawar also slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah accusing him of “creating terror”.

“The Home Minister should speak calmly. The riots should not happen anywhere in the country. No matter who is in the government. Because it is tiring indirectly in a way that the country and the common man have to pay the price. It is an attempt to create terror. People have taken note of it and people have given a strong verdict on it. If someone tries to use religion and caste, he succeeds at some point, but people don’t like it,” he said.

According to the latest trends of the Election Commission of India, Congress has won 114 seats and is leading in 22 more seats.

A party needs 113 seats to get an absolute majority in the 224-member assembly

Bharatiya Janata Party has won 50 seats and is leading on 14 others.

JD(S) has won 17 seats and is leading on three. Independents have won two seats while Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha and Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha have won one seat each.

Elections were held on May 10 in the southern state and saw a voting percentage of 72. 68 per cent.