Sonia addressed 0 rallies, Rahul, 7: Did Congress give up before the first vote was polled

New Delhi, Oct 21: The number of rallies that the top leadership of the BJP addressed when compared to the Congress itself is an indicator that the mood of the grand old party was sombre.

All exit polls have given the BJP a thumbs up in both Maharashtra and Haryana. Going by the overall numbers in Maharashtra and what the exit polls have suggested, the BJP and Shiv Sena would win around 211 seats while the Congress and NCP would end up with 64. The others are likely to bag 13 seats.

In Haryana, the BJP is predicted to win 66 and the Congress 14. The INLD Akali would get 2 and others 8.

Among the top leaders who addressed rallies, Union Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah led the pack. He addressed 18 rallies in Maharashtra and 7 in Haryana and the total tally stood at 25.

The BJP's star campaigner, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a total of 16 rallies in all in both the states. He addressed 9 in Maharashtra and 7 in Haryana.

Sonia Gandhi, the interim Congress chief did not address a single rally in both Haryana and Maharashtra. After returning as the Congress chief, she was to address her first rally at Haryana's Mahendergarh. However the rally was called off and was addressed by Rahul Gandhi instead.

Rahul Gandhi on the other hand addressed 7 rallies in all. He addressed 2 in Haryana and just 5 in Maharashtra.

For the Congress, overall it was a dull show. It appeared as though the party had accepted defeat even before the first vote was polled. Priyanka Vadra Gandhi who had campaigned extensively during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was missing from the poll campaigns in both states.