'Deep introspection' to begin in Congress, Sonia calls meet

Shocked by the poor performance of her party in the four states' assembly polls Sunday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of senior leaders, party sources said Monday.

Soon after the assembly poll results were announced Sunday, the Congress chief said her party needed "deep introspection".

Sources said Gandhi has called a meeting of all general secretaries in charge of states to review the assembly results in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, where the party performed badly.

Mizoram, where the Congress is leading comfortably and will likely form the government again, has come as the only saving grace for the party in this round of assembly polls, widely seen as a "semi-final" of sorts ahead of Lok Sabha polls 2014.

While the Congress was decimated in Delhi, winning just eight of the 70 assembly seats, its main rival the BJP won an absolute majority in Rajasthan, winning 162 seats of the 199 seats for which the polls were held.

Polling in one seat in Rajasthan has been deferred till Dec 13.

The Congress could get only 21 seats in Rajasthan, where it was ruling for five years.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP retained power winning 165 of 230 assembly constituencies, and the Congress won only 58.

In Chhattisgarh too, the BJP retained power, wining 49 of 90 seats, while the Congress won 39.