Bangalore: Admitting that Karnataka missed the "Congress wave", outgoing Chief Minister S M Krishna today (May 13, 2004) said "drought" was the main reason behind the rejection of the party in the Assembly elections.

"There could not be a single factor, it could be a totality of factors. I think the drought was the major reason for the defeat of the party," Krishna said soon after he submitted his resignation to Governor T N Chaturvedi.

Drawing a parallel to the Congress Government's defeat in Rajasthan Assembly elections due to "four years of drought", he said, "Drought itself, regardless of whichever Government, in Rajasthan (four years of drought) or Karnataka which had drought for three years."

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Asserting that he and his party did not expect the drubbing in the hustings, Krishna said, "I and my party leaders will analyse."

Giving credit to the BJP in scoring wins in Coastal and Bombay-Karnataka region and JD(S) led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda in the Vokkaliga dominated South Karnataka, he said, "I am speaking as S M Krishna, people have rejected me and this is a serious note the kind of rejection I have gone."

Krishna said that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and KPCC president Janardhana Poojary were informed before he put in his papers.

He ignored questions on whether he would take up the Chief Minister mantle if Congress joined hands with JDS and said that the final results were expected.