Rahul Gandhi is also contesting from Wayanad in Kerala, where he is leading.

Rahul Gandhi, president of the Congress party, congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening for his spectacular re-election and asked him to "take care of the interests of the country"; the 48-year-old also conceded defeat in Amethi, asking political opponent and BJP leader Smriti Irani to "nurture with love" the constituency that has been with his family for four decades. Mr Gandhi has reportedly offered to resign as President of the Congress, though the party is unlikely to accept. When asked about this, he told NDTV "Can this be between me and the Working Committee (the party's top decision-making body?"

Mr Gandhi has been elected to parliament from Wayanad in Kerala; when he chose it as his second constituency, he was accused by the BJP of running scared from Amethi to the south in search of Plan B.

On a day that saw Mr Modi, 68, return to power with numbers that surpass his record mandate of 2014, Mr Gandhi said he would not take questions about what caused his party's crushing defeat - the Congress is placed to win just 52 seats as compared to 44 in the last general election. "Today is not the day for that," he said, claiming that attention must remain for now on Mr Modi's victory and the unambiguous choice of the people.

He congratulated Mr Modi twice while professing "janata maalik hai" (we report to the people). To his party workers, he said, fear not ("daro mat"). "We will win eventually," he said, reiterating that the Congress vs BJP is a contest of ideologies.

Mr Gandhi's leadership will be scanned carefully now, though critics within his party which is wedded to its long-term sycophancy of its First Family, will choose to do so largely anonymously.

At the end of last year, the Congress's hopes of displacing Mr Modi soared after it won the key heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan from the BJP in state elections, largely driven by voter concerns about weak farm incomes and a lack of jobs.

I accept the verdict of the people of India ????????



Congratulations to the winners, Mr Modi & the NDA.



Thank you to the people of Wayanad for electing me as your MP.



Thank you also to the people of Amethi.



Thank you Congress workers & leaders for your hard work in this campaign. — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 23, 2019

But the Congress then fumbled communications on key policies, with a publicity campaign this year that escaped the notice even of some of its own workers. But what may have really blown up its chances was its inability -or unwillingness- to strike pre-election alliances in states like Uttar Pradesh. In one key area after another, the party was seen as putting its own plans for revival ahead of the need for a combined opposition attempt to block Mr Modi.

Mr Gandhi is also being faulted for embarking far too late in the lengthy voting period that lasted 39 days on a series of television interviews. His attempt to pin corruption on the PM over India's fighter jet deal with France, which saw him coin the phrase "chowkidar chor hai", backfired feel top Congress leaders who, predictably, shared their views today while asking not to be named.

Mr Gandhi met through the day today with his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was assigned a key role in the battle for the politically key state of Uttar Pradesh, and his mother Sonia Gandhi ,who led the party till he took over its No 1 job 2 years ago.

He told reporters that he will meet with the Working Committee, the Congress' top decision-making body to post-mortem the election debacle and decide on next steps.

His defeat in Amethi to Smriti Irani, who has contested the Gandhi bastion only once earlier, screenshots the extent of the decline of both the Congress and the appeal of its First Family. As one party leader, Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "We need reinvention, not introspection." However, as many rebutted, this too is a promise the Congress has made before.