"Huge Message For PM": Rahul Gandhi Welcomes Lok Sabha Poll Verdict

The Congress, though short of its expected seats, is buoyed by what they said was the key takeaway of the Lok Sabha election 2024: A people's mandate that was a "victory for democracy and defeat for Prime Minister Narendra Modi". Encapsulated in it is a message for the Prime Minister, the Congress said. "The country has unanimously and clearly stated, 'We do not want Mr Narendra Modi and Mr Amit Shah to be involved in the running of the country. We do not like the way they have run this country for the last 10 years'. That is a huge message to Mr Narendra Modi," said Rahul Gandhi.

Addressing the media this evening, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Mr Gandhi also declared that the arrogance of the BJP and its Prime Minister did not go down well with the people.

"It was about the arrogance of the BJP leaders," said Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. "They slowly took over all constitutional institutions illegally... Then they used those against the opposition leaders. Some came under pressure. Those who did not, either had their parties split or got sent to jail," he said.

The people, he added, knew that if they were given another chance, both Constitution and democracy would be in danger.

"The way the Prime Minister campaigned will also be remembered for a long time... The people saw through the lies he spread about the Congress manifesto," Mr Kharge said.

Appearing before the media with a copy of the Indian constitution, Rahul Gandhi said the poor of the country had safeguarded it. "I'm proud of the people and thank them for standing up for the constitution," he said.

The Congress, which won only 52 seats in 2019, is now leading in around 100 seats, its allies on another 129 seats.

The BJP, which was hoping to win 370 seats -- up from its sore of 303 in 2019 -- is down to around 240. Trends at 7 pm shows that the NDA, far from the "400-paar" target, is yet to cross 300 seats.  

As for the Congress hopes of 290 seats for the INDIA bloc, Mr Kharge said, "We accept this verdict with humility".

"You all know that the Congress has fought the elections facing multiple difficulties. Our bank accounts were frozen, but we ensured that the campaign continued to be positive throughout. We fought the elections based on issues of inflation, unemployment but on the other hand the PM was spreading false narratives," he added.