Not a bad result, says RaGa
The Congress leaders shiver at the Uttar Pradesh poll results as a harbinger of the party's wipe-out in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but party vice-president Rahul Gandhi tried to bolster up them, saying "we are little down in UP, but look the Congress formed its government in Punjab and won the election in Manipur and Goa."
To him, overall "that is not a bad result." He attributed the BJP's sweep in Uttar Pradesh to multiple reasons and said: "A large part of it is polarisation." He vowed to make the Congress fighting fit by the next round of Assembly elections and then the Lok Sabha poll. And for that, he said: "We do need to make structural and organisational changes."
Talking to reporters here on the election results out last Saturday, he gave full credit to the regional leaders in Punjab, Goa, and Manipur for the performance.
He told them that the Congress is engaged in an ideological war with the BJP and then tweeted: "what the BJP has done in Manipur and Goa is their ideology, and that is what we are fighting."
In another tweet, he said: "It is not about how soon they went, but with how much money the BJP went to steal the mandate of Goa & Manipur."
On his meeting Punjab PCC Chief Capt. Amarinder Singh going to be the CM for the second time, he wrote: "I am confident that Punjab will once again rise to its true potential under a Congress government."
Chief spokesman of Congress Randeep Surjewala taunted Prime Minister Modi that he said after winning thumping majority in Uttar Pradesh that "we shall be more polite (vinamra). "Abduction of MLAs in Manipur and trading in Goa for power. Salute to Modi ji's politeness," he tweeted.
In a series of tweets, he said: "BJP now misusing CISF and Airport authorities to detain & abduct independent MLA Asabuddin at Imphal Airport and take him to Calcutta .... Modi Govt is playing a dangerous game of subverting democracy & abducting MLAs by misusing CISF at Imphal Airport despite an electoral loss.
"Independent MLA Asabuddin is travelling with Minister Sh. Nasir. Federalism & rule of law being murdered in broad daylight," he added.