Gujarat results 'very disappointing'; time for introspection, tough decisions: Congress

Jairam Ramesh said there is a need for a 'new leadership' and unity among state leaders while taking up people's issues

Congress on Friday went on post mortem mode as it sought constituency-wise reports from Gujarat for the poor show in the state Assembly election while putting the blame on the state leadership. The party said it was time for "deep introspection" and taking "tough decisions".

Congress General Secretaries KC Venugopal (Organisation) and Jairam Ramesh (Communications) minced no words when they said that the Gujarat results were a "disappointment'' and a "setback".

Both agreed that AAP's presence had a negative impact on the party, with Ramesh alleging that the BJP was in an "informal alliance" with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party and AIMIM. Venugopal said the party has sought constituency-wise reports from the state unit.

Also Read — BJP's record win in Gujarat shows it's favourite for 2024; Himachal loss gives glimmer of hope to Congress

They saw a positive note in the Himachal victory and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high voltage campaign came a cropper. "If you take the whole elections, except for Gujarat, the results have gone against the BJP. It is a mixed picture," said Ramesh.

A day after party president Mallikarjun Kharge acknowledged that there were organisational problems that led to such a result, Ramesh said, "for us, the Gujarat results show the need for introspection and for taking tough decisions. The Gujarat results have been very disappointing and are far below our expectations. It is a very sad reflection on the state's organisation."

Ramesh said there is a need for a "new leadership" and unity among state leaders while taking up people's issues.

While shielding the central leadership from criticism, he said the local leadership was responsible for the defeat. He also admitted that there were shortcomings in the party's campaign.

"There have been shortcomings in the Gujarat unit and we will have to work on them. The fact is that in 2017, we had restricted the BJP to less than 100 seats...This time we have been restricted to 27 per cent and it is not less. We can bounce back to 40 per cent in the next election and it won't need 10-15 years," Ramesh said.

Blaming that the AAP and Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM helped the BJP, he said that Owaisi's role in politics has become "amply clear" while alleging that both the parties were getting the "active support" of the BJP. Both AAP and AIMIM have cut into the Congress votes, he said.

"It was not BJP versus Congress in Gujarat but BJP, AAP and AIMIM on one side and the Congress on the other," Ramesh said. However, he added, the party cannot make any excuses for the defeat.

He also claimed an atmosphere of fear in Gujarat to ensure that many sections of the society that supported the Congress do not come out and vote. Ramesh also said that an atmosphere of fear was created in Gujarat to ensure that many sections of society who supported the Congress did not come out and vote.