Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday won from Kerala's Wayanad constituency in Lok Sabha elections 2019. Rahul Gandhi contested from the North Kerala seat for the first time along with his traditional seat of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), Gandhi won the Wayanad seat with a margin of more than seven lakh votes against his nearest rival CPI's PP Suneer. While Gandhi won in Wayanad which has been a Congress stronghold, he lost to BJP leader Smriti Irani in Amethi. Although the Union Textil Minister was expected to give a tough fight to Rahul Gandhi in the UP constituency, in a nail-biting contest, Irani won by over 22,000 votes. Kerala General Election Results 2019 Live News Update.

According to the Election Commission's data, UDF won 19 seats in Kerala, while the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) only managed one seat. After the results were declared, Rahul Gandhi congratulated BJP and Narendra Modi for the victory. He also commended Smriti Irani for her win in Amethi. Rahul Gandhi Concedes Defeat in Lok Sabha Elections 2019, Congratulates PM Narendra Modi on Landslide Win.

With Rahul Gandhi losing in Amethi, Congress has been reduced to just one seat in Uttar Pradesh, Rae Bareli, represented by his mother Sonia Gandhi. Amethi which is a Congress stronghold has been bringing Congress to power since 1998. The grand old party has not once lost the seat since then. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi was criticised after losing the Amethi seat. With BJP set to return to power in the country, Assam Finance Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi is not cut out for politics and the party should give him a "decent retirement".

With two constituencies to campaign for the Lok Sabha Elections 2019, Rahul Gandhi had stayed away from Amethi. The BJP used the opportunity aptly to accuse Gandhi of neglecting the constituency. Even on the day of polling, Gandhi was holding a rally in Haryana's Bhiwani much to the benefit of Irani. In 2014, Smriti Irani had lost to Rahul Gandhi even after campaigning aggressively in the constituency. While she lost in Amethi, she used to visit the constituency and also launched central schemes there. The SP-BSP alliance did not field any candidate from Amethi.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 23, 2019 08:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).