Rahul Gandhi concedes defeat in Hindi heartland states

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday conceded the party's defeat in the Assembly elections of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, but he said that the party's battle of ideology would continue.

"We humbly accept the mandate of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan - the battle of ideology will continue," Rahul Gandhi posted on X.

In Telangana where the Congress is set to form the next government, dethroning BRS's 10-year rule, he said that his party will fulfil the promise of making "Prajalu Telangana".

"I am very thankful to the people of Telangana - we will fulfil the promise of making Prajalu Telangana. Heartfelt thanks to all the workers for their hard work and support," the Wayanad MP posted on X. In the Assembly elections in four states- Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh- the counting of which is in the final stages, as per the Election Commission data, the BJP is leading in majority of the seats in three States, clearly indicating that it would form governments in these states.

While in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the BJP is defeating the incumbent Congress governments, in Madhya Pradesh it has defeated the anti-incumbency in retaining the power. However, in the South Indian state of Telangana, the Congress sees a consolation as it poised to dethrone, BRS's decade-old rule.

In Madhya Pradesh, as per the latest Election Commission data, the BJP is leading in 166 seats out of 230 and the Congress is leading in 63 seats. In Rajasthan, the BJP is leading in 115 seats out of 199 seats clearly on the way to ousting the incumbent Ashok Gehlot government. The Congress is leading in 69 seats in the state.

In the Chhattisgarh election, though the majority of the exit polls predicted the Congress would retain the government, the results show otherwise. As per the latest ECI update, the BJP is leading in 55 seats out of 90 and the Congress is leading 35 seats.

In Telangana, the incumbent BRS has conceded defeat as the ECI update showed that Congress is leading in 64 seats in the 119-member assembly. BRS is leading in 39 seats, and the BJP and BRS are leading in 8 and 7 seats respectively. 

(ANI)