MODI’S In close defeat, a win for Rahul

The Congress failed to dethrone the BJP in Gujarat but a creditable performance on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home turf is a boost for its newly elected president Rahul Gandhi. Party leaders hailed it as validation of the Congress president’s leadership qualities and organisational skills.

At the end of the counting of votes in perhaps the most crucial electoral battle after the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress not only significantly increased its tally and vote share but also restricted the BJP below the three-digit figure in the 182-member assembly.

The Congress won 77 seats, up 16 from 2012, and secured 41.4% of the votes polled, which was about two percentage points more than its share in the previous assembly elections.

In the absence of a credible local face, the 47-year-old Rahul spearheaded the party’s campaign, crisscrossing the western state for more than two months. During 22 days of campaigning that started on September 25, he addressed nearly 150 rallies and corner meetings.

He also managed to stitch important alliances with Patidar face Hardik Patel and OBC leader Alpesh Thakor.

An agile, re-energised Con-

NEWDELHI: The Congress party accepts the verdict of the people... I thank the people of Gujarat and Himachal with all my heart for the love they showed me

RAHUL GANDHI, Congress president

gress performed well, particularly in Saurashtra and north Gujarat, despite organisational weaknesses that had prompted the party to hire people for boothlevel management in almost all the 182 constituencies.

As results started coming in, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met Rahul, who later left for Parliament.

Accepting the verdict, Rahul tweeted, “My Congress brothers