Weak Congress leadership to blame for poll debacle: Pawar

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Monday squarely blamed the the weak Congress leadership for the assembly poll debacle in the four states of Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

"People "do not want weak rulers, but strong, decisive and result-oriented leaders like late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the youth have vented their anger through the ballot," Pawar said.

He said that in the immediate future, the Congress needs to seriously introspect on its political shortcomings, and in the macro context, there was a need for the ruling UPA to do the same.

The policies of the government and the major political parties needed to focus on ways implement programmes for the poor with firmness,. Pawar said in a statement.

He described the latest poll debacle as a "big lesson" for all.

He also warned that there were "pseudo activists" who have no connect with ground reality, who are trying to represent the people's feelings.

"Such is the clout of these free advisors, that people from the media as well as the government fall prey to them and start believing that the opinions of these advisors is that of the people. We need to think about this too," Pawar said.

National capital Delhi is a city of contradictions, and therefore, which ever party assumed charge, would have to manage it carefully.

Delhi, he said, is a "pampered" city.

"I would like to see AAP bring down the prices of onions, vegetables and electricity. Only then, will the public know the truth about their campaign because the states really have no control over these prices," Pawar said.