The Congress accepts the people's verdict in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, party president Rahul Gandhi said yesterday and thanked his party workers for fighting 'anger with dignity' in the polls
The Congress accepts the people's verdict in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, party president Rahul Gandhi said yesterday and thanked his party workers for fighting 'anger with dignity' in the polls. He also expressed gratitude to the people of the two states for the love they showered on him.
Illustration/Uday Mohite
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"The Congress party accepts the verdict of the people and congratulates the new governments in both states. I thank the people of Gujarat and Himachal with all my heart for the love they showed me," Gandhi tweeted.
"My Congress brothers and sisters, you have made me very proud. You are different than those you fought because you fought anger with dignity. You have demonstrated to everyone that the Congress' greatest strength is its decency and courage," he added. The seat tally of 77 this time is the Congress' highest since 1995 when it had won 45 seats. The party clinched 53 seats in 1998, 51 in 2002, 59 in 2007 and 61 in 2012.
Congress party supporters celebrate outside the Gujarat College counting centre in Ahmedabad
Though the number of seats won by the Congress and its vote share went up significantly with assistance from three young turks - Patidar, OBC and Dalit leaders Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mewani - it was not enough to unseat the BJP. The BJP's strong showing in cities like Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot, having large concentration of the trading community, could be seen as an endorsement of Modi's economic reform agenda.
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