UP polls: Cong relegated to margins: Its seat tally down to 2 from 7, vote share to 2.35% from 6.25%

Lucknow, Mar 10: The Congress, which has ruled Uttar Pradesh for the longest period of time among political parties but has been out of power for three decades, plunged into further wilderness in the state, winning just two seats.

While its seats tally came down to two from seven in 2017, its vote share declined to 2.35 per cent from 6.25 per cent. The two seats it won are Rampur Khas and Pharenda. In Rampur Khas, Congress candidate Aradhana Mishra defeated her closest rival BJP's Nagesh Pratap Singh by 14,741 votes, while in Pharenda Virendra Chaudhary defeated the BJP's Bajrang Bahadur Singh by 1,087 votes.

The party's poor show in Amethi and Rae Bareli, which were considered its strongholds not long ago, continued where it failed to get a single seat, its candidates getting a third or fourth spot at most places. State Congress president and Tamkuhi Raj seat MLA Ajay Kumar Lallu also failed to make a mark. In Rampur Khas also its winning margin has come down. The Congress campaign was led by party national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who crisscrossed the state holding meetings and roadshows in an attempt to resurrect the party which had been on the sidelines since the past three decades.

Priyank's campaign centred around women with the slogan of ' ladki hun lad sakti hun' and had come up with the new experiment of issuing a separate manifesto for women who were also given 40% tickets. PTI