Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday welcomed the result of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and thanked the people of Wayanad and Raebareli for making it possible for him to win by an overwhelming majority. He said the people had saved the Constitution and democracy in the country.

“Thank you to the people of Wayanad and Raebareli for their tremendous support and for making me win with an overwhelming majority. If it was in my power, I would have liked to remain MP of both places,” Rahul Gandhi said at a press conference in the national capital on Tuesday.

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The final count of votes for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections has been completed. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 240 seats, far less than expected, but defeated the opposition Congress, which won 99 seats.

“The people of India saved the Constitution and democracy. The underprivileged and poor people of the country stood by India to defend their rights. Congratulations to all the allies and the lion-like workers of the Congress party,” the Congress leader said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third term in office, but the BJP will need support from other parties in his coalition – JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu – as it remains 32 seats away from a 272-seat majority. This is a major blow to the prime minister, who had hoped for a 400-seat landslide victory. It is the first time since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014 that it has failed to secure an outright majority – far less than the 303 seats it won in the 2019 election.

Given the surprise drop in support for the BJP, the opposition bloc INDIA claimed it had scored a victory of sorts, while the Congress said the election was a “moral and political loss” for Prime Minister Modi.

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“This election result is a 'janta ka result'. This is the victory of the people and democracy. We have said that it is a fight between Modi and the people. In the 18th Lok Sabha election, we accept the result with all humility. The people have not given an absolute majority to any party. The BJP asked to vote for a person, the mandate has gone against Modi. This is his political and moral loss. For the person who asked for votes on his behalf, this is a huge loss,” said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

Taking to social media platform X, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “This election was a fight to save India's democracy and constitution. It was a fight against unemployment, inflation and the economic crisis. The great people of the country have recognised their problems and supported the INDIA Alliance. Congratulations and thanks to all the alliance partners, all the Congress MPs and the great people of the country.”

“Rahul Gandhi won the Raebareli seat by defeating BJP's Dinesh Pratap Singh by a margin of 3,90,030 votes. Gandhi had contested this seat to save the party's only bastion in the state after losing Amethi in 2019.

The Congress leader also won the Wayanad seat, paving his way to the Lok Sabha in 2019. He defeated Communist Party of India's Marxist candidate Annie Raja by 364,422 votes.