Election Result LIVE: Cong Denies Rahul Gandhi Offered to Resign as Top Body Meets to Fix Accountability

Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi tweeted in support of party president Rahul Gandhi, crediting him for standing up to the "gargantuan political party".

If it was one mass leader with National credentials who stood tall and fought the gargantuan political party that BJP has become (financially and otherwise), it was Rahul Gandhi. important for us to stand with him when India needs a strong Opposition.#IStandWithRahulGandhi

— Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) May 25, 2019

The CWC meeting, presided by party chief Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, continues at the Congress headquarters in Delhi.

Delhi: UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting. pic.twitter.com/I7ZHqKpfZE

— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2019

Newly elected MPs of the BJP-led NDA will meet on Saturday to formally elect Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their leader, setting in motion the process of government formation. The BJP said the meeting will take place in Parliament's Central Hall at 5 pm. Prior to this, BJP MPs will meet separately at Parliament House. Modi is expected to address the MPs following his election as their leader.

Rahul Gandhi lost his home turf to Irani by a margin of more than 55,000 votes. The Congress chief had been elected MP from Amethi since 2004.

BJP leader Smriti Irani, who recorded an upset in the Lok Sabha elections by defeating Rahul Gandhi in his stronghold of Amethi, on Friday said the Congress chief had failed to solve the people’s problems during his tenure as MP. “The representative of the people did not solve the people's problems, he rather became the problem of the people,” Irani said. Gandhi lost his home turf to Irani by a margin of more than 55,000 votes. The Congress chief had been elected MP from Amethi since 2004.

Hooghly MP Locket Chatterjee said she would bring back the Tatas to Singur, while Raiganj's Debasree Chaudhuri is confident the Assembly election would be advanced in the state.

Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora met President Ram Nath Kovind to submit the list of winners in the Lok Sabha elections 2019. On advice of the Union Cabinet, the President has signed the order of dissolving the 16th Lok Sabha.

Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora submits the list of winners of #LokSabhaElections2019 to President Ram Nath Kovind. pic.twitter.com/Gbf0hcRGs0

— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2019

BJP Delhi MPs elect addressed a press conference from the party's state Office. State chief Manoj Tiwari and cricketer-tuned-politician Gautam Gambhir were among those present.

भाजपा के नवनिर्वचित सांसद भाजपा प्रदेश कार्यालय में मीडिया से समवाद कर रहे हैं। pic.twitter.com/Z3ZUp6soPt

— BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) May 25, 2019

In a spectacular performance, Reddy's YSR Congress had won 151 of 175 Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, the elections for which were held on April 11. Reddy's election would be conveyed to Governor E V L Narasimhan later Saturday for the party to stake claim to form the government in the state, the sources added.

Y S Jaganmohan Reddy was Saturday unanimously elected as the leader of the YSRC legislature party, sources said. The meeting of the newly elected MLAs at the YSR Congress office Viijaywada lasted for 45 minutes before the decision was made, the party sources said. Thanking the MLAs for electing him as the legislature party leader, Reddy said,"in 2019, people voted for us out of faith and belief, in 2024 they should give us a bigger mandate because of our performance."

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Paneerselvam arrived in Delhi for the NDA meeting today. The AIADMK had joined hands with the BJP in these Lok Sabha elections. 

Delhi: Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi Palaniswami, Deputy CM O Panneerselvam and Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat arrive for NDA meeting, to be held today. pic.twitter.com/PDfWkk9ltE

— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2019

Rahul's Resignation Rumours | Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala denies the rumours of party President Rahul Gandhi's resignation as the Congress Working Committee continues with its meeting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Varanasi on Monday, May 27 after the BJP swept the recent Lok Sabha elections. He will go to the Vishwanath temple in the city to offer prayers. He will also express his gratitude towards the people of Varanasi for their mandate in his favour. The administration has swung into action for the preparations ahead of the prime minister's arrival.

Over the last decade, Jagan has bounced back from near decimation to triumph and also exacted revenge from the Gandhis by making their Congress party irrelevant in Andhra Pradesh.

Jaganmohan Reddy elected leader of YSRC legislature party.

Andhra Pradesh: YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy felicitated by party members at the legislative party meeting in Amaravati. He has been elected as the Legislative party leader at the meeting. pic.twitter.com/ymdJ2zRpXy

— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2019

Meanwhile, Kamal Nath explained his absence from the CWC meet saying, he skipped the meeting to protect Congress MLAs in Madhya Pradesh. In elections for the 230-member Assembly last year, the Congress won 114 seats and the BJP coming a close second with 109. The Bahujan Samaj Party has two seats, the Samajwadi Party one and the Independents four seats.

CWC Rejects Rahul's Resignation | Rahul Gandhi allegedly offers to resign as the party president after Lok Sabha elections debacle, owning responsibility for the loss. However, the Congress Working Committee rejected his resignation, sources said. 

As several studies suggest, Muslims do not vote en bloc in favour of one party or candidate. So the argument of Hindu consolidation propelling BJP's success in Muslim majority seats seems to hold substance.

PM's Itinerary | The prime minister is scheduled to reach Ahmedabad tomorrow around 5 pm. A welcome ceremony will be held on his arrival at the airport.He will then proceed towards Khanapur BJP office in Ahmedabad. Earlier, it was the state BJP headquarters, where he had stayed for long during his days as general secretary of the party.PM Modi will meet his mother afterwards and then proceed to the Rajbhavan in Gandhinagar, where he will stay the night. The prime minister will visit his Lok Sabha constituency, Varanasi, the next day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the staff members of the PMO and expressed his gratitude for the efforts put in by them in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. Praising the "team work", he said, "After a long time Indians thought these people can do something so pressure abd workload increased. But this pressure increased due to trust and expectation of people in us. We didn't divert from our dedication in last five years."

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath skips the Congress Working Committee meeting amid worries over his wafer thin majority in the state, sources said. The Congress' performance in Madhya Pradesh has been even more dismal than 2014 when it managed to win only two seats - Chhindwara and Guna. This time Congress’s tally stands at a dismal one (Chhindwara). Further, the evident anti-incumbency wave has fuelled the rumour mill with Shivraj Singh Chouhan hitting out at that party over their defeat. Saying that it was a mandate against the Congress in MP, Singh had demanded that Nath resigned as CM

DMK President MK Stalin and newly elected MPs, MLAs and other leaders of the party pay tribute to M Karunanidhi, in Chennai. The leaders also met party general secretary K Anbazhagan at his residence.

French President Emmanuel Macron has congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his election win and pledged to continue to work together to consolidate the security of the two nations as well that of the world and promote sustainable development. He said that the immense voter participation in the electoral process illustrates the "vibrancy of the largest democracy in the world".

Meanwhile, BJD MP Pinaki Misra, who defeated BJP's Sambit Patra, expressed his gratitude towards the voters for his victory.

BJD MP Pinaki Misra: I'm very grateful that they showered me with so much affection - Puri parliamentary constituency in its entirety&as a token of thanks, I've decided to give my entire salary&allowances from Parliament to CM Relief Fund so that it can be used for people of Puri pic.twitter.com/R7B5sKra00

— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2019

Rahul Gandhi, who has himself suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Smriti Irani in Amethi, congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the win as the BJP improved its tally from 2014 and crossed the 300-mark, making it the biggest mandate for a single party since 1984.

The idea of NYAY scheme may have been excellent as voters love transactional relationship, but it never reached the people it was supposed to court.

CWC Meet Commences | The Congress Working Committee meeting begins. Senior leaders P Chidambaram, Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge and Captain Amarinder Singh are present for the meeting.

Amid speculations over his possible resignation as the Congress chief, Rahul Gandhi along with party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrives at the Delhi headquarters for the Congress Working Committee meet. Owing responsibility of the party's loss in the Lok Sabha elections, he offered to resign from his post, sources told News18. 

Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrive for Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting. pic.twitter.com/us3jj9QVLm

— ANI (@ANI) May 25, 2019

Rahul Gandhi is likely to offer his resignation at the Congress Working Committee meeting on Saturday.

In the CWC meeting today, the top Congress leadership will deliberate on the reasons for the loss and assess them. Party president Rahul Gandhi is likely to offer his resignation at the meet, party sources said.