Rahul Gandhi loses In Amethi, Congratulates Smriti Irani

New Delhi: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi conceded a defeat to BJP’s Smriti Irani in Amethi of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday. In a press conference, Gandhi accepted the defeat as “verdict of the people of India” and congratulated his opponent and also Narendra Modi on their landslide win.

While congratulating, the 48-year old Gandhi scion asked Modi to “take care of the interests of the country.”

Amethi has been a Congress stronghold for the Congress party and this loss came as a huge jolt. Rahul Gandhi asked political opponent and BJP leader Smriti Irani to “nurture with love” the constituency that has been with his family for four decades.

With the SP-BSP alliance staying out of the contest, Rahul faced a straight contest from Irani. Incidentally, he has been elected to Parliament from Wayanad in Kerala; when he chose it as his second constituency; he was accused by the BJP of running scared from Amethi to the south in search of Plan B.

I accept the verdict of the people of India 🇮🇳

Congratulations to the winners, Mr Modi & the NDA.

Thank you to the people of Wayanad for electing me as your MP.

Thank you also to the people of Amethi.

Thank you Congress workers & leaders for your hard work in this campaign.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 23, 2019

Congress chief also congratulated Narendra Modi twice while professing “janata maalik hai” (we report to the people). To his party workers, he said, fear not (“daro mat”). “We will win eventually,” he said, reiterating that the Congress vs BJP is a contest of ideologies.

He told reporters that he will meet with the Working Committee, the Congress’ top decision-making body to post-mortem the election debacle and decide on next steps.

Rahul has reportedly offered to resign as President of the Congress, though the party is unlikely to accept. Confirmation is awaited.

Also Read: 2019 Election Results: Congress Leading In 8 Seats In Punjab