Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today said the results of the Gujarat Assembly polls would not have any impact on the Assembly election in the state, which is due early next year.


"The election results of one state will not have an effect on the election of another state. The issues will be different. Whatever may the Gujarat poll results be, it will have no impact on Karnataka," he said.


The Congress leader also claimed that by ensuring the party's victory in the Assembly polls, Karnataka would give the "first gift" to newly-appointed Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his leadership. Claiming that there was no anti-incumbency against his  government, Siddaramaiah said if it was there, the Congress would have got to know about it in the Nanjangud and Gundlupet bypolls, which the party won by big margins.


"I am sure that in 2018, we will come back to power hundred per cent," he added. The Congress has already announced that Siddaramaiah will be its face in the Karnataka Assembly polls. Expressing doubts about the BJP's performance in Gujarat, despite anti-incumbency and a strong undercurrent against it, the chief minister said the poll results lent credence to the doubts regarding EVMs.


Noting that the trends of the results showed an improved performance of the Congress, the chief minister gave the credit for that to Rahul Gandhi. "I feel, in Gujarat, we have won despite losing. The people have shown their support to Rahul Gandhi's leadership," he said.  -- PTI