Hyderabad: Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family, on Wednesday stepped down as Congress president stating the party's crushing defeat in the recently held Lok Sabha elections as the principal reason behind his move.
The end of Rahul's roller-coaster ride? However, this was not the first time the Congress party faced a humiliating defeat. In 2014, the party had put up its worst performance despite being in power for ten long years.
ETV Bharat brings to you an overview of Rahul Gandhi's career in his quest to revive Congress' party in the recent years:
YEAR 2004
- Rahul joined politics and contested Lok Sabha polls as a Congress candidate from Uttar Pradesh's Amethi, which is considered Congress family's bastion
- That year, Congress came into power and led the UPA government in the Centre
YEAR 2007
- Rahul was appointed as Congress' General Secretary. He was given charge of Indian Youth Congress and National Students’ Union of India
- Rahul emerged as the star campaigner during the UP assembly elections
YEAR 2009
- Rahul addressed 125 rallies during the Lok Sabha campaign. Congress won 21 out of the 80 seats in UP
- UPA retains power, forms the government
YEAR 2011
- Gandhi also joined in the farmers' protest against the UP govt's forced acquisition of land at minimum rates in Bhatta Parsaul village
- Got arrested
- The UPA government passed the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act
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YEAR 2013
- Rahul was elevated to the post of Congress Vice-President
YEAR 2014
- UPA loses the General Lok Sabha elections. The Congress party reduces to only 44 seats at the Lok Sabha
- Rahul retains the Amethi seat in UP
YEAR 2015
- Rahul slammed the Modi government as 'Suit-boot sarkaar'; forced the government to dismiss proposed amendments to the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2011
- Along with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul appeared in court over an alleged case of misappropriation of funds linked to the National Herald newspaper
YEAR 2017
- Rahul is unanimously elected as the party president
- Attacks the BJP government on lines of employment, farmers distress and economic slowdown
- Makes a mark on social media, gets back at the Modi government
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YEAR 2018
- Congress defeats the BJP and emerges as the single largest party in the Karnataka assembly elections; forms coalition with Janata Dal (S) to form the government
- Under Rahul's leadership, Congress won in the three heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh; while it loses in Telangana and Mizoram
YEAR 2019
- Although Rahul has done better compared to the 2014 general elections, he once again faced a crushing defeat at the hands of the BJP by a huge margin.
- Congress only got 50 seats, while the BJP won a whopping 286 seats out of the 543 seats at the Lok Sabha.
- On July 3, Rahul resigned from the party president's post
After being called names, putting up a good fight against Smiriti Irani for the Amethi seat and winning from Kerala's Wayanad, experts believe Rahul's image did better with time.
On Wednesday, Rahul has finally put down his papers stating the reasons in a four-page-long resignation letter, "As president of the Congress party, I am responsible for the loss of the 2019 election. Accountability is critical for the future growth of our party. It is for this reason that I have resigned as Congress president."
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