Indian expatriates from Karnataka who are residing in Saudi Arabia have expressed happiness at election results in their state, which were declared on Wednesday.
A significant number of NRIs working in Saudi Arabia come from such regions as Gulbarga, Bidar, Manglore and Banglore, where the Congress Party has swept into power.
Karnataka was the first state where the BJP had stormed to power on its own in 2008. Since then, it has been at the center of corruption allegations. Progress in Karnataka, which is considered a prominent state in the south, has curbed the frustration of its people.
Welcoming the results, Abdul Majeed Neha and Rasheed Kolatra, president and general secretary respectively of the congress-affiliated OICC (Jeddah chapter), said that the people of Karnataka have ousted corrupt and communal governments from power. They said that a state like Karnataka has no place for BJP's politics.
Karnataka NRI forum representative, Naser Khurseed, said that people have shown good sense by ousting communal politics and that the state is now in safe hands. He said that U.T. Khader (Manglore), Tanveer Sait (Mysore), Khamarul Islam (Gulbarga) and Raheem Khan (Bidar), have won in the election.
It is interesting to note that though the number of NRIs from Karnataka in the Kingdom is considerable, not a single expatriate from that state has registered as an NRI voter from Saudi Arabia.
