The Congress party not only drew a blank in the 39 constituencies of Tamil Nadu but the deposits of 38 of its candidates were forfeited.
Only H. Vasantha Kumar, the party's candidate in Kanyakumari district, was able to save his deposit, being runner-up to BJP's state president Pon Radhakrishnan.
The owner of consumer retail chain Vasanth & Co and a television channel Vasanth TV, Kumar secured 2,44,244 votes. He lost to Radhakrishnan by a margin of 1,28,662 votes.
Interestingly, Congress president Sonia Gandhi campaigned only for him in the state.On the other hand, Su. Thirunavukkarasar contesting from Ramanathapuram, secured only 62,160 votes despite Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's campaign.
The Congress secured 17,51,123 votes in Tamil Nadu, translating to 4.3 percent vote share in the state.
Published 17 May 2014, 12:56 IST