Robert Vadra all praises for Rahul Gandhi, vows to be with him in his 'service to nation'

Amid a leadership crisis in the Congress following the Lok Sabha election disaster, Robert Vadra on Saturday inundated his brother-in-law and former AICC president Rahul Gandhi with heaps of praise and applauds. In an overwhelming Facebook post, Vadra said there is so much to learn from him, adding that he will always be by his side in his service to the nation which is bigger than any party post.

"There is so much to learn from you, Rahul. I am with you in service to the nation which is bigger than any party post. Let's connect with people and serve our nation, in a better way," wrote Vadra, who is married to Gandhi's sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi.

"The Indian populace, which comprises 65% of the young -(under 45 years), looks up to you and other young leaders for direction," the post read. "You have shown tremendous strength of character and your decision to build the grassroots connect has been applauded by one and all," it added.

READ | Priyanka Gandhi accuses Yogi Adiyanath government in UP of muzzling media

Vadra's statements come at a time when the Congress is vigorously searching for Gandhi's succesor following his official resignation as the party chief in early July. Holding accountability of the party's lackluster performance in the recently held Lok Sabha polls, Gandhi had publicly released his four-page resignation letter on social media. The Congress leader said rebuilding the party required hard decisions and numerous people would have to be made accountable for the failure of 2019.

In the wake of Gandhi's resignation, several other party leaders, including Jyotiraditya Scindia, Milind Deora, also stepped down from their respective posts. Gandhi’s representative Chandrakant Dubey and Amethi president Yogendra Mishra also put in their papers voluntarily right after the disastrous Amethi defeat.

READ | Robert Vadra allowed to travel abroad for 6 weeks for medical treatment by CBI Court

In a historic poll battle, Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani defeated Gandhi in his traditional bastion Amethi by more than 52,000 votes, in this Lok Sabha elections. Gandhi, who represented the Amethi Lok Sabha seat since 1999, is currently a Member of Parliament from Wayanad constituency in Kerala.

In Wayanad, the Congress leader defeated his nearest Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate PP Suneer by a record margin of over 4.31 lakh votes. While Gandhi secured 7,06,367 votes, Suneer ended up bagging 2,74,597 votes. The BJP-led NDA candidate Thushar Vellapally, who is also state NDA chairman, came a poor third, polling about 78,000 votes. 

In a whole, the Congress finished a dismal second, winning only 52 out of 542 constituencies across the country. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, won a record 303 seats, further increasing its substantial majority in the House.