Congress President Rahul Gandhi, on Monday, conceded defeat in the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh polls.
"The Congress party accepts the verdict of the people and congratulates the new governments in both states. I thank the people of Gujarat and Himachal with all my heart for the love they showed me," he tweeted.
"My Congress brothers and sisters, you have made me very proud. You are different than those you fought because you fought anger with dignity. You have demonstrated to everyone that the Congress’s greatest strength is its decency and courage."
The ruling BJP, on Monday, had just edged past the half-way mark in one of the most bitterly contested elections that saw the Congress improve its tally compared to five years ago.
Election Commission officials said the Bharatiya Janata Party, on course for its sixth consecutive win, had bagged 58 seats and was leading in 41 while the Congress had won 50 and was forging ahead in 27 more.
Smaller parties and independents had won three seats and were leading in three.
While the BJP celebrated all across Gujarat and in Delhi, the 99-seat tally was far less than the 150 BJP President Amit Shah had set for the party to win and 16 less than what it got in 2012 despite intense campaigning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
(Inputs from IANS)
