Congress chief Sonia represents Rae Bareli in Parliament while son Rahul Gandhi is an MP from Amethi - both in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh. Patel had yesterday pulled off a stunning victory despite a series of desertions that hit the Congress. Today, the party leaders said the Gujarat result was a temporary blip in their larger goal of a "Congress- mukt Bharat" (Congress-free India). "Party leaders should have gone and not the ministers. It led to a flood of congratulatory tweets from BJP ministers and leaders.

Source: The Telegraph August 09, 2017 21:41 UTC