Rahul - Loses Big, Wins Big

Amethi is a Lok Sabha constituency in the Avadh region of Uttar Pradesh created in 1967. Today Amethi has broken its 39 years long relationship with the Gandhi family. Congress lost before in 1977 when the Janta party won, and in 1988 when BJP won.

Losing Amethi is probably the biggest upset for the congress party as Rahul Gandhi had a record of holding the seat for the longest period from 2004 to the present. Both Rahul and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the General Secretary incharge of eastern Uttar Pradesh had campaigned aggressively in Amethi .

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Amethi several times and held public meetings and road shows. The seat in the past was held by her mother, father and uncle altogether four members of the Gandhi family.

Why did Rahul Gandhi lose?

There are many reasons that could have contributed to losing this seat. Some say it's the farmers who shifted loyalty as they thought he was grabbing their lands.

The young voters also turned to BJP as Smriti Irani reached out to them and promised to get them scholarships and jobs. Lack of development of infrastructure are one of the many reasons. While Rahul made 17 visits to Amethi since 2014, Smrithi Irani went there 21 times and conducted several meetings.

Rahul Gandhi conceded defeat and tweeted-

I accept the verdict of the people of India 🇮🇳

Congratulations to the winners, Mr Modi & the NDA.

Thank you to the people of Wayanad for electing me as your MP.

Thank you also to the people of Amethi.

Thank you Congress workers & leaders for your hard work in this campaign.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 23, 2019

Wayanad

While he lost in Amethi, Rahul won in Wayanad with a record of more than 400,000 votes over his nearest rival. Rahul had contested from Wayanad to strengthen the party's presence in South India. The congress believed that Wayanad district was the most impacted in the 2018 floods and could gain if the congress president wins the seat. It was also because it could help the Congress galvanise party workers not just in Kerala but also in neighboring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Wayanad was also a safe bet as it had a majority Muslim population.

The BJP mocked Rahul's decision to contest from Wayanad saying that it was just an insurance policy to help Rahul make it to the parliament as he was not confident of winning in Amethi.