New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi conceded defeat in the Lok Sabha elections 2019 but said that he will continue his ideological fight against the BJP, reports The Statesman.

At a press conference in New Delhi, the 48-year-old Congress chief accepted the people’s verdict.

Thanking Congress workers, Gandhi said that the fight between the Congress and the BJP is of ideology.

“I thank workers of the Congress. Our fight is of ideology – two different thoughts. We have to admit that Modi and BJP have won this election. I congratulate them. I want to tell the Congress workers not to worry,” he said. 

Gandhi did not respond to questions on what went wrong for the Congress.

“Today is the date of the mandate and I don’t want to go into details of what went wrong,” he said.

“It was a long campaign. I kept a line: You can abuse me, I will respond with love. Whatever happens I will respond with love,” he added.

When asked to comment on his impending defeat in Amethi, a Gandhi-family bastion, at the hands of BJP candidate and Union minister Smriti Irani, Gandhi simply congratulated the BJP leader and said that he hopes she works for the people with “love”.

“I will say that people have given their verdict in Amethi. I congratulate Smriti Irani. And I want her to take care of Amethi with love,” he said.

There were reports that Gandhi had offered to resign as president of his party. But Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala called the reports incorrect.

At the time of writing, Rahul Gandhi was trailing behind Irani in Amethi by 38449 votes. But he is set to return to Parliament as an MP with a record victory in Kerala’s Wayanad, where he was leading by a margin of 431195 votes ahead of CPI’s PP Suneer.

The NDA is set to form a government with a clear majority.