New Delhi: With Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the Lok Sabha elections, the opposition party Congress suffered a humiliating defeat as it has drawn a blank in 18 states and Union Territories. Even after aggressive campaigning in several states, the party’s poor performance can be seen as an indicator of its decimation in the Lok Sabha polls.

The 2019 Lok Sabha elections are Congress' second straight rout in after it was decimated in the 2014 polls when the party ended up with a tally of 44 seats. The party has again failed to get the post of Leader of Opposition in the Lower House. The biggest shock to the Congress was its president Rahul Gandhi losing the family pocket-borough of Amethi, held by the party since decades.

Here are the states where the Congress has been completely routed -

  1. Andhra Pradesh

  2.  Arunachal Pradesh

  3. Chandigarh

  4. Dadar and Nagar Haveli

  5. Daman and Diu

  6. Gujarat

  7. Haryana

  8. Himachal Pradesh

  9. Jammu and Kashmir

  10. Lakshadweep

  11. Manipur

  12. Mizoram

  13. Nagaland

  14. Delhi

  15. Rajasthan

  16. Sikkim

  17. Tripura

  18. Uttarakhand


Congress leaders who lost:

The Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, lost from Kalaburgi in Karnataka. The party had fielded several former CMs in Lok Sabha battle and all of them lost. The list includes former Delhi CM Shiela Dikshit from North East Delhi, former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijay Singh from Bhopal, former Maharashtra chief ministers Ashok Chavan from Nanded and Sushil Kumar Shinde from Solapur, former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat from Nainital, former Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma from Tura, former Haryana CM Bhupinder Hooda from Sonepat and Verrappa Moily from Chikkballur in Karnataka.

BJP chief Amit Shah on Thursday said the grand old party had drawn a "big zero" in 17 states and Union Territories, while the saffron party got more than 50 per cent votes in 17 states. Addressing party workers at the BJP headquarters, he described the victory as "historic in Indian politics" and said it was for the first time in several decades that a party had got back to back majority.

READ: 'Prashant Kishor' factor in Andhra Pradesh which helped Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress get landslide victory

Murmurs have already started within the party over taking responsibility for its poor performance across the country, with some of its leaders already sending in their resignation. Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar, President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Campaign Committee Senior Congress leader H K Patil and Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik announced their resignation in the wake of the party's electoral debacle in their respective states.

According to sources, the party has convened a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, its highest decision-making body, at 11 am on Saturday. Congress leadership will deliberate on the reasons for the loss and assess them. It bagged only 52 seats in this election. In 2014, the Congress had won 44 seats.

READ: 10 interesting facts about Lok Sabha election results 2019

Top party leaders, including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, are expected to attend the meeting. This was the first Lok Sabha election where their mother, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, did not campaign and neither did former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Rahul Gandhi is likely to offer his resignation at the meet. The brother and sister duo, the 48-year-old and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were the star campaigners for the Congress in this election.

(agency inputs)

WATCH: Rahul Gandhi to resign from the post of Congress President?