Congress blames infighting, sabotage for its debacle in HP
SHIMLA: The Congress party has undertaken first-of-its-kind review to analyse the electoral reverses it suffered in the Himachal Pradesh assembly polls. Majority of the candidates termed infighting, sabotage by the local leaders and lack of resources as the reason of their defeat in election.
The meeting at the local Congress office that lasted for more than three hours was chaired by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge Sushil Kumar Shinde in the presence of secretary Ranjeet Ranjan.
Congress’ tally in the 68-member house this time has come down to 21 from 36 seats it had secured in the 2012 election.
The party candidates and legislators have strongly recommended actions against local and a few top-rung leaders for marring the election. While it was learnt that Congress candidates presented as a proof the audio and video footage of local Congress leaders who ‘sabotaged’ the polls this time, many contestants overtly and covertly blamed Virbhadra Singh for propagating local leaders who allegedly worked against their own party.
Deepak Rathore, a Congress candidate from Theog, has reportedly produced audio and video clips before Shinde and Ranjan alleging that Congress leaders had backed CPI(M) candidate Rakesh Singha.
Singha, who had won in 1993 from Shimla urban seat, made it to the Vidhan Sabha this time from Theog. Due to incomplete formalities, returning officer had rejected the nomination of Congress octogenarian leader Vidya Stokes from the same segment.
Former health minister Kaul Singh Thakur has already shifted the onus of defeat on Virbhadra’s loyalist Puran Thakur — vice-president of Pradesh Congress Committee — who had rebelled against him at his home turf in Darang.
“We have come here to evaluate the losses. Based on the feedback of candidates, both leaders will prepare a report and submit it to AICC president Rahul Gandhi who will assess it to revive his party’s functioning for the 2019 polls,” Shinde said at the Congress headquarters in Shimla while dismissing the presence of ‘Modi wave’ in the election.
Meanwhile, Ranjan said, “We are upbeat and will be a strong Opposition now.”
HOLDS EVMS, RESOURCE CRUNCH RESPONSIBLE
There were several Congress candidates who held the electronic-voting machines (EVMs) responsible for their defeat claiming that there were lighting problems at many polling stations.
Another faction blamed the lack of resources for their loss. “BJP spent crores in election campaigning here. We could not match their might. Lack of resources played a spoilsport for us,” said a candidate from Sirmaur district seeking anonymity.