Maken, Chacko resign as Congress finishes third in Delhi civic polls

Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken and senior leader P C Chacko on Wednesday announced that they are stepping down from their posts, taking the moral responsibility for the party’s defeat in Delhi civic polls.

The leaders said they have sent their resignations to the party leadership. Chacko was AICC in-charge of the Delhi unit of the party.

“I want to set an example, I will continue as an ordinary worker,” Maken said.

He tried to seek solace in the increase in vote share of the party in comparison with the 2015 Delhi Assembly polls when the party had failed to open an account.

Chacko, for his part, said, “Failure is failure and we must take responsibility.

"The Congress has to introspect. There are many reasons behind the failure of the party and they should redefine their strategy for the future and that can be done by a new team and that is why we sent in our resignations,” he said.

The Congress had polled 9.70% of the total votes cast in the Assembly polls. In the civic elections, it had polled 21.20%, an increase of 11.50% over the Assembly poll figures.

However, in 2012 civic polls, Congress had polled 30.54% of the total votes cast and Wednesday’s results indicate a 9% fall in vote share.

The Congress refused to join the Aam Aadmi Party in blaming the electronic voting machines for their electoral loss.