Jubilant by his party's victory in the Karnataka assembly elections, senior leader of the Bhartiya Janata Party L K Advani declared that 2009 would be the year of change in national politics.

"My affirmation has been vindicated by the triumphant performance of the BJP in the Vidhan Sabha elections in Karnataka. I sincerely thank the people of Karnataka for giving a mandate to my party. I also heartily congratulate the state unit of the BJP and B S Yedyurappa, under whose leadership the party contested the elections," Advani said in a written statement to the media.

He said that the people of Karnataka had give a befitting reply to 'the politics of opportunism of the Congress and the betrayal of the Janata Dal � Secular'

"I have no doubt that my party's triumph in Karnataka will prove to a turning point,  comparable to the quantum increase in parliamentary strength that the BJP achieved in 1989. It may be recalled that the BJP won 86 seats in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections,  compared to only two seats in 1984. Thereafter, the BJP's victory march became unstoppable and led to the formation of the BJP-led National Democratic Allaince government in 1998. It also ended the Congress' domination at the Centre and transformed India's polity into a bi-polar system," he said.

Party president Rajnath Singh, while congratulating the people of the state, thanked Arun Jaitley for leading the party to victory.

Jaitley said that it is a matter of pride that after Gujarat, the BJP has now won in Karnataka. He refused to be termed as the 'lucky mascot' of the party, and added that the  whole party had strived hard for the victory.

"Both local as well as national issues played a major role in Karnataka elections," he said.