Humbly accept people's verdict: Rahul Gandhi after Congress defeat

With current trends of the Assembly election results showing that the Congress is faring badly in five states - Manipur, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Punjab, party leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that he accepts the people's verdict and will take lessons from it. 

''Humbly accept the people's verdict. Best wishes to those who have won the mandate. My gratitude to all Congress workers and volunteers for their hard work and dedication. We will learn from this and keep working for the interests of the people of India,'' Gandhi said on Twitter. 

The Indian National Congress has lost more seats this time in all five states compared to the previous Assembly Election in 2012. As per the results released by the Election commission till now, it looks like Congress won’t be forming the government in any of the five states - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa. 

Congress’s biggest defeat has come in Punjab where it has been in power since 2017. In Punjab, the Aam Aadmi Party has crossed the halfway mark in Punjab, winning 59 seats and leading in 33, according to the poll results declared by the Election Commission so far. As per the data available at 4 pm, the ruling Congress won nine seats and was leading in nine other seats. 

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu has the Amritsar East seat. Earlier on Thursday, Sidhu took to Twitter to congratulate AAP for its performance. "The voice of the people is the voice of God. Humbly accept the mandate of the people of Punjab... Congratulations to AAP,"
 

AAP's CM candidate from Dhuri, Bhagwant Mann has won with a margin of 58,206 votes. Bhagwant Mann is all set to be sworn in as the next Chief Minister of Punjab. Mann has stated that the oath-taking ceremony of the new Punjab cabinet will be held at Khatkarkalan in Nawanshahr district, the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.