Congress has returned a morale-boosting performance in Gujarat under Rahul Gandhi: Chidambaram

New Delhi: The Congress has given a morale-boosting performance in Gujarat, senior party leader P Chidambaram said on Monday.

In a series of tweets, Chidambaram congratulated the BJP for winning the Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh but said the Congress has returned a morale-boosting performance in Gujarat under Rahul Gandhi.

"The battle is now joined for five states in 2018," he said. Assembly elections are due in Karnataka, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Mizoram in 2018.

The former finance and home minister said there is an electoral victory and there is a political victory in the results of the two states.

Surmounting the incumbency factor, attempted caste-based social engineering by the Congress, and perceived anger over the GST, the BJP clinched the Gujarat Assembly polls sixth time in a row on Monday, winning 99 seats in the 182-member House.

Congratulations to the BJP, the winner in HP and Gujarat. Best wishes to the new governments. — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) December 18, 2017

What a victory! In Gujarat, the winner limped across the finish line with a young sprinter close on his heels. — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) December 18, 2017

There is an electoral victory and there is a political victory. Need I say who is the political victor in Gujarat.

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) December 18, 2017

Congress has returned a morale boosting performance in Gujarat under Mr Rahul Gandhi. The battle is now joined for five states in 2018. — P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) December 18, 2017

The saffron party's tally, however, was 16 less than 115 in the previous election. It is also for the first time it has slipped below the 100 mark since the BJP formed its maiden government on its own in 1995. It was in a coalition government with the Janata Dal in 1990 but the two parted ways soon.

The Congress, which had won 61 seats in the previous elections, made handsome gains, adding 16 seats to its tally.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing BJP workers in New Delhi accused the Congress of trying to sow the seeds of casteism in Gujarat in its "hunger for power", and claimed the victory in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh underlined people's acceptance of his government's reforms.

The Prime Minister hailed the party's victory in Gujarat, where it has been continuously in power since 1998 as "unprecedented", noting that retaining office was once considered a huge achievement in the country. 

(With PTI inputs)