The Vishwaguru who addressed the maximum rallies and boasted of being blessed with divine energy, who promised guarantees in his own name, turned out finally not invincible, points out Jyoti Punwani.
Rahul Gandhi was defeated by BJP's Smriti Irani in 2019 elections.
As the results for the Lok Sabha elections 2024 were declared on Tuesday, here is how some of the big faces fared in the contest.
The decision on Rahul Gandhi's appointment as the Leader of Opposition was made after a meeting of the floor leaders of the INDIA bloc at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence.
'Election funding needs a little more transparency.'
"I am going to Raghopur to get feedback from the people of the constituency, which wants an end to the supremacy of one family. Before Tejashwi Yadav, a second-term MLA, his father Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi had represented that seat. Yet, it is crying for basic amenities," alleged Kishor.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fight again from Varanasi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as it named 34 Union ministers in the first list of 195 candidates.
The BSP chief said she does not want to see any damage to the SP-BSP-RLD alliance.
Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi are likely to contest the Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareli and Amethi seats, respectively, sources said on Thursday.
'I have always been a 'sevak' of the Gandhi family and whatever responsibility the Gandhi family has entrusted to its sevak, I will fulfil it'
Kishori Lal Sharma, a close aide of the Gandhi family, has been fielded from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, the party said in a statement.
The new Lok Sabha will have 300 MPs who have been elected for the first time to the Lower House.
Even if the BJP gets 60, 70, or even 100 per cent of the votes in the seats where it scored more than 50 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, these will still add up to only 224 seats, argues Shekhar Gupta.
Sharma was the key person who looked after Rae Bareli and Amethi constituencies on behalf of the Gandhis.
A legend that sprang up after the Turkman Gate killing is that when the shrine is disturbed, the government will fall, as it happened with the Indira Gandhi government.
Oommen Chandy said the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee has requested Gandhi to contest from Wayanad but he has not commented on the proposal.
The last time a non-Gandhi was in the fray from the constituency was in 1998, when Satish Sharma, a close aide of Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, contested the polls but lost to the BJP's Sanjaya Sinh.
Amid intense speculation over whether he would contest the Lok Sabha polls from Uttar Pradesh's Amethi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he would abide by his party's decision on it.
Amid criticism that the Congress had given a walkover to Irani in Amethi, sources said, the party in its wisdom believed that Rae Bareli's historical, emotional and electoral importance for the Gandhi family was higher than that of Amethi.
The BJP, however, reacted sharply to Gandhi's remarks saying the Congress leader will do well worrying more about his constituency.
When Modi's name was called out by the Secretary General for taking oath, Members from the ruling National Democratic Alliance thumped the desk greeting the Prime Minister with slogans such as 'Modi Modi' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'.
After tasting electoral success in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday said it would contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls from 20 states, including Uttar Pradesh, where it would field candidates from all 80 constituencies.
'Has the BJP not announced its candidates in Raebareli?'
Indicating his keenness to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Amethi, Robert Vadra, businessman and husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has said that the people of Amethi expect him to represent their constituency if he thinks of becoming a member of Parliament.
'If the Congress loses this time, Rahul Gandhi will not look back at Amethi ever again.'
Digvijaya Singh is no longer in Rahul's close circle of advisers. His move to the Upper House was to ensure that the senior leader does not meddle in Madhya Pradesh politics in the run up to the crucial Lok Sabha polls. Anita Katyal reports
In 2019, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi won the seat by a margin 1,67,178 votes against Dinesh Pratap Singh.
Ending days of suspense, the Congress on Friday announced that Rahul Gandhi will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli, the constituency held by his mother Sonia Gandhi for the last two decades, and Kishori Lal Sharma, a close aide of the Gandhi family, will fight from Amethi.
Reacting to his win, Sharma expressed his gratitude to the people of Amethi and the Congress party, saying the 18th Lok Sabha election in Amethi will be the biggest example of a strong and empowered democratic country.
Irani said that Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Raebareli is a "victory" for the people in Amethi.
Smriti Irani took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi and his brother-in-law suggesting that Vadra has an eye on the constituency.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi is likely to contest from Rae Bareli, but a final call is yet to be taken by the first family of the Congress.
Barring Maharashtra, the poll percentage in rest of the states was in excess of 60 per cent while in Puducherry it was 80.47 per cent.
On speculations of Priyanka Gandhi contesting in the 2024 election, Rai said that Priyanka Gandhi will contest from wherever she wants to.
Gandhi, a former Congress president, represented Amethi in Parliament from 2002 till 2019.
Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani has distributed over 15,000 saris among woman from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency as a Diwali gift.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited the family of Shubham Dwivedi, one of the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack, and called for a special session of Parliament to ensure justice for the victims. Gandhi, along with the opposition, has demanded the government take strict action against the terrorists and provide justice to the bereaved families. He met with Dwivedi's family in Kanpur and expressed his condolences, emphasizing the need for a united front against terrorism. The Congress has also issued statements calling for a strong response to the attack and demanding accountability for the perpetrators.
The high octane campaign marked by vitriolic attacks and counter-attacks by political leaders and use of derogatory language and objectionable remarks that forced the Election Commission to step in ended at 6 pm.
The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat Smriti Irani on Monday attacked Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi for the lack of development in the constituency, saying he has betrayed people after promising them progress.
A banner came up outside Purey Alpi Tiwari hamlet in Sarmeny village under Jamo block on Monday warning to boycott the coming elections with the locals raising slogans.
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