New Delhi: While the BJP has gone silent following the drubbing in Karnataka bypolls, a charged Congress on Tuesday went on to claim that it was indicative of the “changed mood” in the country.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said that the party and the other “progressive and pluralistic forces” had “vanquished” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the last 10 bypolls in the country.

“Today, the news from Karnataka is extremely encouraging. This is indicative of the changed mood in the country,” Mr Tewari said.

In an emphatic endor-sement of Karnataka’s ruling JD(S)-Congress coalition by the voters, its candidates won both the Assembly constituencies and two of the three Lok Sabha seats in the bitterly fought bypolls held on Saturday. The BJP managed to hold on to the Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat, the traditional stronghold of Oppos-ition leader and former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa. Mr Yeddyurappa’s son B.Y. Raghavendra defeated his JD(S) rival Madhu Bangarappa in a closely fought contest.

The by-election results have come as a major setback for the main opposition BJP ahead of the 2019 elections with the party losing the Ballari Lok Sabha seat, considered a stronghold of the controversial mining barons — the Reddy brothers. The mine rich Ballari had remained a BJP stronghold since 2004.

Soon after his victory in the Ballari Lok Sabha by-poll, Congress candidate V.S. Ugrappa thanked all the “secular voters” who got him elected.

“It’s not my victory. It’s a victory of Congress, JDS, Communist leaders and of all the secular voters of Ballari,” he said adding that he strive hard to see the overall development of the Ballari Lok Sabha constituency.

Molakalmur MLA B. Sriramulu said, he owns the responsibility of BJP candidate and his sister J Shantha’s defeat in the Ballari Lok Sabha by-poll.