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Journalism of Courage
A day after the Congress was decimated in Gujarat, the party’s central leadership on Friday blamed the state unit for the defeat, saying the result was a “very sad reflection” on the state’s organisation. Promising introspection, the party said it was time to bring in a new leadership and take tough decisions.
The party forcefully argued that the absence of Rahul Gandhi from the campaign in Gujarat – he had addressed only two token rallies in Surat and Rajkot – had not impacted the outcome. The party said there were shortcomings in the Congress campaign and in the local leadership.
In the same breath, the party argued that the Congress had scored a “major victory” in 2017 when it managed to restrict the BJP to below 100. In 2017, Rahul had led a spirited campaign with the same set of local leaders powering the Congress to 77 and bringing down the BJP to 99.
Addressing a press conference, AICC general secretary in charge of communication Jairam Ramesh said the Gujarat results were deeply disappointing for the Congress and much below its expectations. He said it was time for introspection and time to bring in a new leadership. “It was time for introspection, time for tough decisions and to think about the local leadership,” he said.
Asked who was responsible for the defeat in Gujarat, he said there were shortcomings in the local leadership and shortcomings in the campaign were certainly visible. But he argued that the election had taken place in an atmosphere of fear and argued there was voter suppression.
Asked whether the Bharat Jodo Yatra was responsible for the outcome, he said “absolutely no”.
On whether the result would have been different had Rahul devoted more time to campaigning in Gujarat, he said, “Bharat Jodo Yatra and elections are different. The election process is completely different. It was not a national election. It was an assembly election. And for assembly elections…. kitna bi prachar kendriya neta kare… ultimately people look at the local leadership. And there were shortcomings in Gujarat which we will have to evaluate and improve.”
“I have accepted the fact that the result in Gujarat was deeply disappointing for the Congress party. It is a very sad reflection on the state’s organisation and the fact is that in 2017 we had restricted the BJP to less than a 100. It was a major victory for the Congress in 2017,” he said, adding the party will have to introspect on the shortcomings which crept in between 2017 and 2022.
Incidentally, party president Mallikarjun Kharge had on Thursday said the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s leadership had contributed to the party’s victory in Himachal Pradesh.
The party reiterated that the “alliance” between the BJP, AAP and AIMIM also contributed to the Congress decimation. Ramesh said AAP and the AIMIM were informal allies of the BJP. “It was not a fight between the Congress and the BJP. It was the Congress on one hand and the BJP, AAP and AIMIM on the other,” he said.
