Congress cannot wait for people to get tired of BJP: Sachin Pilot

Mumbai: Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Saturday said the party cannot wait for the people to get tired of the BJP but must reach out to the people, and it has been working on it.

Speaking at a media event here, he denied allegations that the Grand Old Party does not accommodate its allies, while also appearing to blame the Aam Aadmi Party for the results in the Haryana elections.

"We are in opposition for the last 11 years. I think we need to, and we must work to increase our vote share. For that the party needs to do an outreach and cannot wait for the people to get tired (of the BJP) and come to us. We, leaders and party workers, need to go to them. We are working on it," Pilot said at the ABP Network's `Ideas of India Summit 2025' here.

The party has a roadmap, and aims to strengthen the organisation in 2025, the Congress general secretary added.

Calling the Congress' defeat in the Haryana assembly elections unexpected, Pilot pointed out that the AAP contested all 90 seats on its own, and the difference in the vote shares of the Congress and the BJP was just 0.2 or 0.3 per cent.

It was AAP's decision to contest elections in Haryana, and the results are before everyone to see, he said.

It was wrong to say that the Congress does not know how to make a compromise for the sake of its allies, Pilot said, adding, "We have taken everyone along and, at times, we have taken forward an alliance at our own cost."

"This is not easy because Congress is the only party that can challenge the BJP at the national level," the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister stated.

Regional leadership has its importance in politics, Pilot said, claiming that his party has given a "lot of space to other parties to come together." His comments came amid rumblings in the Opposition's I.N.D.I.A. bloc after the electoral setbacks in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi.

The AAP and the Congress, part of the I.N.D.I.A. alliance, contested the Haryana and Delhi elections separately, losing to the Bharatiya Janata Party in both the states.

On Congress targeting AAP leader and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal during the Delhi assembly polls, Pilot said there were ideological differences between the two parties, and the AAP too opposes the Congress in Punjab.

To a question on the future of the I.N.D.I.A. grouping, Pilot said, "I.N.D.I.A. coalition is as strong today as it was when it was formed." The NDA coalition has no common minimum program and only the BJP drives its agenda, he claimed.

The Congress leader also accused the government of not willing to hold dialogue with anyone.