Congress president Rahul Gandhi today said he accepted the people's decision and congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP on their terrific win, commenting "janata malik hai (the people have decided)". He also conceded defeat to the BJP's Smriti Irani for her win in Amethi, the constituency he held since 2004.
"Frankly, today is the not the day to discuss what I think went wrong because people of India have clearly decided that Narendra Modi is going to be their Prime Minister and as an Indian I respect that," Rahul Gandhi said.
To a question on whether he would resign, he said: "I don't need to comment on that. That I will take up with the Congress working committee when we meet next. Let that be between me and the working committee."
PM Modi's BJP is headed for a victory bigger than in 2014; it will cross the 300 mark on its own. The Congress, however, looked unlikely to get to three digits.
"I would like to thank all Congress workers for their hard work and effort... I want to tell them and all those people in India who believe in the Congress ideology that don't be scared, have faith and we will work and sought this out in the time to come. Love never loses, and I am certain that we will emerge stronger and work better... love will guide us," said Mr Gandhi, 48.
"I will not get into the details of the mandate... today is not the day to do that... today the country has chosen their prime minister and it is a time to congratulate him and wish him well for his next term as PM."
'INDIA' Is with You Against "Injustice": Rahul Gandhi To Arvind Kejriwal Person In Constitutional Post Trying To Destroy Economy: Jagdeep Dhankhar UP Man Rapes 13-Year-Old Daughter In Amethi: Cops Life On Earth Originates From One Ancestor, Older Than Previously Believed Cops Probing Conspiracy Angle Into Kolkata Hospital Vandalism: 5 Points Kolkata Rape-Murder: Fractures, 150 mg Semen, Other Claims Denied By Cops Centre Closely Monitoring Mpox Situation, No New Cases Reported MK Stalin Unveils Mega Industrial Housing For 18,000 Foxconn Women Workers "Effective Immediately": Elon Musk's X Closing Operations In Brazil Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.