New Delhi: The Congress has suffered a massive jolt this general elections by being almost wiped out by the BJP in the Hindi heartland states — Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi. Apart from most states in the Hindi belt, the Congress has also been swept away in Gujarat and is left with just one seat in Karnataka. In 2014, it won 21 seats in these 12 states combined, but it has managed to win only seven this year.

The party's national president, Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday conceded defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who won the second term with sweeping majority. Calling the results "people's mandate", Rahul said, "I congratulate Modiji and BJP for their electoral victory. People of India have decided that Narendra Modi will be the PM again and I fully respect that."