Rahul hails Congmen for 'fighting anger with dignity'

New Delhi: Displaying grace and humility in his party's twin defeats in the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, the Congress party's newly elected President Rahul Gandhi said on Monday that accepts the people's verdict and thanked his party workers for handling the extremely tough, bitter and often acrimonious poll campaign by "fighting anger with dignity".

Gandhi also thanked the people of the two states for the love they showered on him. "The Congress party accepts the verdict of the people and congratulates the new governments in both states. I thank the people of Gujarat and Himachal with all my heart for the love they showed me," he tweeted.

"My Congress brothers and sisters, you have made me very proud. You are different than those you fought because you fought anger with dignity. You have demonstrated to everyone that the Congress' greatest strength is its decency and courage," he added.

Reacting to the election results, senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram said that the Congress has given a morale boosting performance in Gujarat under Rahul Gandhi and the battle will now be for five states in 2018.

"The battle is now joined for five states in 2018," he said.