What if Priyanka Gandhi challenged PM Modi in Varanasi? Rahul in retrospect

Rahul Gandhi was full of praise for his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who primarily focused on strengthing the party's foothold in Amethi and Raebareli.

After thanking Priyanka for her efforts, Rahul said his sister would have comfortably defeated PM Narendra Modi in the elections if she contested. "The Prime Minister has also saved himself in Varanasi. If my sister had contested from Varanasi, today the Prime Minister of India would have lost the Varanasi election by 2-3 lakh votes," he said.

Terming the Congress' victory in Amethi and Rae Bareli as "historic", party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said the entire country is looking towards Awadh which has sent a message that "we need a dedicated, true and clean politics" in the country.

She credited the "unity" between the workers of the Congress and Samajwadi Party for the Lok Sabha election win in Uttar Pradesh.

Priyanka Gandhi was addressing a thanks-giving programme here following the victory of Rahul Gandhi in Rae Bareli and KL Sharma in Amethi. The Congress won six Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh while its INDIA bloc ally Samajwadi Party bagged 37 seats out of 80 against the BJP, which faced a major setback in the politically crucial state.

The Congress leader expressed her gratitude to the party workers and supporters for the victory in the two seats, considered the pocket borough of the Nehru-Gandhi family.

"With twice the devotion and loyalty that you have shown to us, we will all work for you for the next five years and forever," the Congress general secretary said.

(With PTI inputs)

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