Did Congress lose touch with youth, society, asks Sonia

Congress president Sonia Gandhi Monday said the responsibilities of her party "go far beyond winning elections" and expressed apprehension that the party may have lost touch with the youth and the society in general which is "evolving and changing rapidly".

"We should try and understand why our support base has eroded to this extent. Have we fully identified with aspirations of our people?" she asked partymen, while also congratulating the winning candidates and thanking party cadre for their support.

Speaking at the Congress Working Committee meeting here, Gandhi alleged that the message of the Congress was lost in an aggressive campaign of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which also took to polarising voters.

"The message of the Congress was lost in the din and dust raised by an aggressive and polarising campaign by our opponents," she said.

She thanked outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for "stewardship of the government".

She offered to resign as Congress president, but that was rejected unanimously by the Congress Working Committee.