Poll debacle: Cong takes stock, charts future course of action

The Congress party has started its internal probe to ascertain the reasons behind its poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections, with senior leader A K Antony meeting state unit chiefs as well as seniors from states.

The exercise is done by an ‘informal committee’ led by Antony, who is also entrusted with the task of suggesting ways to revive the party at the grass root level.

Antony, assisted by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and former Union minister Mukul Wasnik, has met party leaders from Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. The committee, which also has AICC secretaries Avinash Pandey and R C Khuntia as members, has been holding meetings daily and interacting with leaders individually.

B K Hariprasad, AICC general secretary in charge of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha, met the committee as did Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Bhupesh Baghel, senior leaders Motilal Vora and Charandas Mahant. According to sources, among the reasons cited for the party’s poor performance in the elections are the faulty selection of candidates and frequent change of candidates.

From the West Bengal unit, PCC chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former PCC chief Pradeep Bhattacharya, senior leaders Somen Mitra and Deepa Dasmunshi met the Antony-led committee.

Sources pointed to deep polarisation during the elections is seen as the major factor for the party’s debacle.

Also, the Congress was left with hardly any vote bank as Hindus cutting across caste lines had sided with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the minority community aligned with the Trinamool Congress (TMC). However, state party leaders were hopeful that the mistakes being made by the incumbent TMC government and the BJP in the coming days could leave scope for the party to gain ground.