New Delhi: Who are the 52 candidates of the Congress who won despite the Narendra Modi wave in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections?
The Congress had fielded 421 candidates across the country but only 52 of them got elected from 18 states and union territories, marking the second dismal performance by the grand old party in the second successive general elections.
The Congress won the maximum number of 15 seats in Kerala followed by eight in Punjab and Tamil Nadu each. In 17 states and union territories, it could not open its account.
Among the party leaders who lost were 4 members of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the party.
Among the victorious candidates, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is the only Congress nominee to win from electorally-crucial Uttar Pradesh. She managed to retain her Rae Bareli seat by winning by 167,178 votes.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi, while losing his family pocket borough seat of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh which had elected him thrice earlier, got elected from the second seat of Wayanad in Kerala by 431,770 votes.
Here is the list of other Congress candidates who won:
3. Kuldeep Rai Sharma: He is the Congress chief of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and won narrowly by 1,407 votes.
4. Abdul Khaleque: A Congress MLA, he won from Barpeta in Assam by 1,40,307 votes.
5. Pradyut Bordoloi: He is a former Assam minister and won from Nowgong in Assam by 16,752 votes.
6. Gaurav Gogoi: A sitting party MP and son of former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, he retained Kaliabor by 2,09,994 votes
7. Mohammad Javed: He won from Bihar's Kishanganj, a seat traditionally considered a Congress stronghold, but not with a big margin. He won by 34,466 votes.
8. Deepak Baij: A Congress MLA, he won from Bastar in Chhattisgarh by 38,982 votes.
9. Jyotsna Mahant: She is wife of Chhattisgarh Assembly Speaker Charan Das Mahant and won from Korba in Chhattisgarh by 26,349 votes
10. Fransciso Sardinha: He is a former MP and won by 9,755 votes from South Goa.
11. Geeta Kora: The only Congress candidate to win from Jharkhand (Singhbhum, 72,155 votes).
12. Komatireddy Ventkat Reddy: A four-time legislator, he won from Bhongir in Telangana by 5,219 votes
13. D. K. Suresh: The only Congress candidate to win from Karnataka, he retained Bangalore Rural by 2,06,870 votes.
14. Shashi Tharoor: The former Union Minister won from Thiruvananthapuram by 99,989 votes
15. Ramya Haridas: A former block panchayat president, she won from Kerala's Alathur by 1,58,968 votes. The seat was considered tough for the Congress.
16. Adoor Prakash : He won from Attingal, considered a Left citadel, by 38,247 votes.
17. Benny Behanan: He had to be hospitalised during his campaign but won from Chalakudy by 1,32,274 votes.
18. Hibbi Eden: A young Congress leader, he won from Erankulam by 1,69,153 votes, which is a record margin for the constituency.
19. Dean Kuriakose: He took part in agitations organised by the UDF concerning farmers and won from Idukki by 1,71,053 votes
