NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi, president of the Congress party, congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening for his spectacular re-election and asked him to “take care of the interests of the country”; the 48-year-old also conceded defeat in Amethi, asking political opponent and BJP leader Smriti Irani to “nurture with love” the constituency that has been with his family for four decades.
Gandhi has reportedly offered to resign as President of the Congress, though the party is unlikely to accept. When asked about this, he told NDTV “Can this be between me and the Working Committee (the party’s top decision-making body?”
Mr Gandhi 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.
On a day that saw Mr Modi, 68, return to power with numbers that surpass his record mandate of 2014, Mr Gandhi said he would not take questions about what caused his party’s crushing defeat – the Congress is placed to win just 52 seats as compared to 44 in the last general election. “Today is not the day for that,” he said, claiming that attention must remain for now on Mr Modi’s victory and the unambiguous choice of the people.
