New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hailed the party's performance in the Karnataka Assembly polls as a victory of love over hate and claimed this will be replicated in other states as well.

With the party heading towards a comfortable majority in the southern state, Gandhi said "nafrat ka bazaar" has closed down and "mohabbat ki dukaanein" have opened in the state.

The Congress has won 100 of the 224 assembly seats in Karnataka so far and is leading in 36, while the BJP has won 45 and is ahead in 19, according to the latest trends on the Election Commission website. The Janata Dal (Secular) has bagged 16 seats so far and is leading in four.  

"I thank and congratulate the people of Karnataka, party workers and leaders," Gandhi told a press conference here amid bursting of crackers and cheers by party workers at the party's headquarters.

"I am happy we contested the Karnataka polls without using hate, bad language. We fought the polls with love. In Karnataka, 'nafrat ka bazaar' (market of hate) has closed down' and 'mohabbat ki dukaanein' (shops of love) have opened," he said.  

In the Karnataka polls, on the one side there was power of crony capitalists and on the other there was the strength of poor people, Gandhi said.

The strength of the poor has defeated the power of crony capitalists and this will happen in all states, he claimed.

Gandhi expressed happiness that the party raised people's issues and ran a positive campaign in Karnataka.