The CPI(M) Thursday claimed the BJP's defeat in the May 10 Karnataka assembly polls will be a "major setback for the Hindutva forces" and set the pace for the secular and democratic opposition to present a serious challenge to the saffron party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Left party in the latest editorial of its mouthpiece Peoples Democracy said the Karnataka assembly election has a special significance in the present conjuncture.