The Congress clarified today as its top leaders met for a post-mortem after its 52-seat disaster only a few more than its historic low of 44 in 2014.

Gandhi has taken 100 per cent responsibility for the defeat. He had centred his election campaign on PM Modi, accusing him of corruption in the Rafale deal, unemployment and weak economy. He also ran "chowkidar chor hai" campaign against PM Modi. The meeting is being held a day after three state chiefs of the party sent their resignations to their boss who himself could not keep his traditional seat Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress Working Committee includes general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, her mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former Prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and the chief ministers of all Congress-ruled states - Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

The Congress ended up with only one seat - Sonia Gandhi's Raebareli - of the state's 80 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh.

The Prime Minister won from his seat Varanasi by a margin of over 4.7 lakh votes.

The Congress saw a drubbing in 17 states and union territories and couldn't do any better even in the three heartland states it won just in December. 

The party won two seats in Chhattisgarh, one in Madhya Pradesh and none in Rajasthan.

Rahul Gandhi offered to resign today over the Congress's national election debacle and the party rejected in the time-honoured tradition of an organization that has rarely looked beyond the Nehru-Gandhi family against all reason.

The Congress, shell-shocked with its 52-seat haul - only a few more than its historic low of 44 in 2014 - stuck to the template as it responded to Rahul Gandhi's mean culpa in a post-mortem by the party's top decision-making body.

"Besides Rahul Gandhi's resignation, I expect accountability. I would say to Congress- get your leaders back, at least in Gujarat", senior journalist Nalini Singh said.

Congress leaders discuss rout in Lok Sabha elections. What are the options before the party?

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