Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said that the people of Maharashtra had served a crushing defeat to communal forces and a decisive victory to the Congress and its allies.

"The people of Maharashtra have given a crushing defeat to forces that wanted to divide our country on the basis of religion and caste," he told reporters after the assembly election results were out in Maharashtra.

"It is a very happy day for Congress and its allies," Singh said. He thanked Congress president Sonia Gandhi for the extensive campaign undertaken by her and the support the party got from NCP leader Sharad Pawar.