The Assembly Election results on Tuesday decided the fate of as many as 8,500 candidates across five states, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. With Congress set to form governments in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and locked in a close fight in Madhya Pradesh, Gandhi said the selection of chief ministers in the three states will be done "smoothly". "We have defeated the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh... There will be no issue over (selection of) chief minister. It will be done smoothly," he said.
Congress chief also said Modi taught him "what not to do" and he also "learnt a lot" from the massive defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. "Certain amount of arrogance came in. I think that is fatal for a politician. That is something I learnt from how he has acted. For me the best teachers are the people of this country," Gandhi asserted, adding that he has had a "nice journey" since 2014. To another question on whether the Congress was now thinking of a 'BJP-mukt Bharat', Gandhi answered in the negative and said the party's approach was different as it wanted to defeat them but not free India from anyone.
Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi congratulated the Congress, the TRS and the MNF for their victories and said the BJP accepts people's mandate with humility. "Victory and defeat are an integral part of life. Today's results will further our resolve to serve people and work even harder for the development of India," he said.