Sonia Gandhi opines on poll debacle: ‘Need to take note of serious setbacks in Assembly polls, draw lessons’
The party chief’s strong words come days after she described their performance in last month’s Assembly elections as “very disappointing" and added that it was “unexpectedly so".
FollowNew Delhi: Interim Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday demanded that the party "take note of our serious setbacks (and) put our house in order", after yet more disappointing performances in elections.
“We have to take note of our serious setbacks. To say that we are deeply disappointed is to make an understatement. I intend to set up a small group to look at every aspect that caused such reverses and report back very quickly," said Sonia. “These results tell us clearly that we need to put our house in order," she added.
The party chief’s strong words come days after she described their performance in last month’s Assembly elections as “very disappointing" and added that it was “unexpectedly so".
Addressing a crucial meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Gandhi said she intends to set up a small group to look at every aspect that caused such reverses.
“We need to candidly understand why in Kerala and Assam we failed to dislodge the incumbent governments, and why in West Bengal we drew a complete blank. These will yield uncomfortable lessons, but if we do not face up to the reality, if we do not look the facts in the face, we will not draw the right lessons,” she said in her opening remarks.
Gandhi also asked Assam general secretary Jitender Singh, Kerala general secretary Tariq Anwar and West Bengal in-charge Jitin Prasada to make a presentation and explain why the party lost in these States.
Congress struggled to appeal to voters in this round of Assembly elections. In Bengal, where the party joined hands with the Left, it was shut out and the alliance was decimated. By contrast, the Trinamool swept to victory with 213 seats to the BJP’s 77.
The Congress is also set to discuss elections to choose a new President - a sensitive subject given the divide between senior leaders over the leadership of the party and its continuing poor performances.
The proposed date of the election is June 23, with nominations to close by June 7. However, final confirmation of the polling date is pending after some leaders voiced opposition.
The deliberations would help the Congress prepare for the next round of Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
On the issue of internal elections, over the past year, senior leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor and Kapil Sibal have called for “full-time" and “effective leadership" that will be “visible" and “active" in the field.
In August, 23 leaders wrote to Sonia Gandhi to express concern over the decline of the party, and said that its revival was essential for the nation and democracy. They called for sweeping reforms, including decentralisation of power, empowerment of state units and organizational elections at every level, which engineered a split in the grand old party.
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