Rahul Gandhi sweeps Wayanad, Raebareli, Congress wins 99 Lok Sabha seats

Lok Sabha election 2024 result: Rahul Gandhi's decision to contest from Raebareli aimed to uphold his party's long standing influence in this constituency, historically dominated by Congress

Lok Sabha election 2024 result latest updates: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has won Kerala's Wayanad constituency and Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli seat, the Election Commission's website showed on Tuesday.

In Wayanad, Gandhi won by a margin of 364,422 votes while in Raebareli, he won by 390,030 votes, the Election Commission’s website showed.

Importance for Raebareli for Congress

Gandhi’s decision to contest from Raebareli aimed to uphold his party's long standing influence in this constituency, historically dominated by Congress except for three instances: 1977 (Janata Party), 1996, and 1999 (BJP).

Simultaneously, Gandhi is also sought a re-election from Wayanad, where he secured a second term. Previously an MP from Amethi, Gandhi faced defeat in 2019 at the hands of Smriti Irani. In Raebareli, he contested against BJP’s Dinesh Pratap Singh.

Congress ahead at 7 Lok Sabha seats in UP

Meanwhile, the Congress secured 99 seats across India, marking a significant recovery for the party, which managed just 52 seats in the state in 2019.

In the previous general elections, Congress secured a vote share of 19.49 per cent. Exit polls suggest a marginal improvement in Congress’s performance this time.

Gandhi’s Congress is a key player in the INDIA bloc, a coalition of opposition parties aiming to unseat the Narendra Modi government in alliance.

In Uttar Pradesh, Congress has joined forces with the Samajwadi Party under the INDIA group, contesting 17 seats, while their allies are contesting 63 seats. The SP won 37 seats in the state and the Congress 6, denting the BJP's prospects of securing a majority by itself. The saffron party failed to cross the 272 mark needed to form the government as it won only 240 seats. However, with the help of NDA allies JD(U) and TDP, the Modi government could still see a return for the third time.

UP recorded a voter turnout of 56.92 per cent in this Lok Sabha election, which is two percentage points lower than the 2019 turnout.

The BJP, which swept the UP polls last time by winning 62 out of the total 80 seats, contested 75 seats by itself.