Even on Tuesday, hours after having taken the lead in stalling the Narendra Modi juggernaut, Rahul Gandhi remained on the mission, holding up the Constitution of India and harping on the Modi-Adani nexus.

For all practical purposes, he was in campaign mode, right down to his preferred election-time attire of trousers and white T-shirt, complete with the Congress symbol, when he addressed the media.

Like a seasoned politician, he took Tuesday’s wins in his stride, displaying the same calm demeanour that marked his acceptance of the crushing defeats of 2014 and 2019 besides the many Assembly poll losses that came in between and since.

He made no attempt to claim credit for the victories, acknowledging the role of the INDIA bloc in stopping the BJP in its tracks and thereby saving the Constitution.

On display at the news conference was an evolved politician who deftly sidestepped attempts to draw him into commenting on future strategy, repeatedly maintaining that it would be a collective decision of the alliance.

Although the Congress has a bad reputation as an alliance partner, this time the Gandhi family — particularly Rahul — is said to have been particularly invested in the INDIA bloc, keenly aware that the Modi phenomenon cannot be stopped by the Congress single-handedly.

In some instances, the Congress settled for less to keep the alliance going, and Rahul made it a point to display camaraderie with other party leaders at rallies to make the dynamic percolate down to the workers and voters.

But his biggest thrust was on the messaging. Having picked up different views from the people during the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Rahul and his team were instrumental in crafting the Congress manifesto, which focused on social justice as an alternative to the BJP’s Hindutva agenda.

Through the campaign, the Congress in general and Rahul in particular refused to be provoked by the BJP or Prime Minister Modi.

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Supriya Shrinate, Pawan Khera and others arrive for a press conference amid the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections, at the party headquarters, in New Delhi, Tuesday, June 4. PTI

Slowly, but surely, the INDIA bloc — particularly the Congress — began setting the agenda. The BJP found itself having to react, especially in relation to changing the Constitution, doing away with reservations, and the Agnipath scheme of temporary recruitment to the armed forces.

Among all the Opposition politicians, Rahul was the only one outside the Left fold to take on the RSS regularly.

He did pipe down on attacking Veer Savarkar to maintain coalition dharma with the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray), accepting the advice of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. But he kept his guns trained on the Adani-Ambani duo to keep up the narrative against the Modi government’s monopolistic tendencies.

While the INDIA constituents were all against Modi, Rahul emerged as the most outspoken voice against him, directly attacking him in speech after speech by name despite being trolled incessantly.

As far as the people were concerned, he was living his “daro mat (fear not)” call and somewhere down the line, the Congress became a rallying point for many outside politics who were looking for a break from the Modi phenomenon.

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi during a press conference amid the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections, at the party headquarters, in New Delhi, Tuesday, June 4, 2024 PTI

For a “reluctant politician” who likes his foreign holidays, Rahul has stayed the course, and a particularly thorny path it has been with the BJP employing an entire industry to ridicule him and create the image of a “Pappu” for him.

After the Bharat Jodo Yatra, that tag no longer sticks. And now, with this election result, the tag of entitled dynast is another that is unlikely to work. For, Rahul has earned his spurs against all odds.