Lucknow, May 24: After Congress reduced to just one seat in Uttar Pradesh and lost the prestigious battle of Amethi, the state party chief Raj Babbar took responsibility for the defeat in Lok Sabha elections. Raj Babbar, who lost the Fatehpur Sikri seat to his nearest rival Rajkumar Chahar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), offered his resignation to Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress party could retain Sonia Gandhi's Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi lost his Amethi seat to BJP's Smriti Irani. Amethi was first won by the Congress in 1980 and has remained with the Congress, barring one year when the BJP won the seat. This humiliating defeat comes two years after Congress’s rout in the assembly elections in the state under Babbar's leadership. Five Reasons Behind Congress' Crushing Defeat at Hands of PM Modi-Led BJP.

The Congress party's performance under Babbar has been disappointing. Under Babbar's leadership, Congress had fared badly not only in the assembly polls but also in municipal elections. It failed in Gorakhpur and Phoolpur by-elections as well. There is discontent among Congress cadres who accuse Babbar of being inefficient and inaccessible.

Babbar was a two-time MP from Samajwadi Party – 1999 and 2004 – from the Agra Lok Sabha seat. Two years after he was suspended from the party, Babbar joined Congress in 2008 and was elected to his third term in Lok Sabha in 2009 by defeating Dimple Yadav. He also served two terms in Rajya Sabha – from 1994 to 1999 – while his second term in the Upper House began from March 2015.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 24, 2019 10:35 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).