India, April 18 -- The defeat of the Constitutional amendment bill on Friday began with a phone call from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. On Friday morning, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha reached out to Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee while the latter was campaigning in West Bengal.

This shifted the numbers. The TMC, which originally expected 10 MPs to attend, sent 21 of its 28 lawmakers to the House.

By 8:03 PM, the amendment was defeated 298-230, failing to secure the mandatory two-thirds majority.

"After the Bill was defeated, Rahul Gandhi called Abhishek Banerjee to thank him for playing a crucial role in defeating this Bill. Banerjee and Gandhi spoke at length and discussed how if all MPs would have been...