Rahul experiments, UPA policies blamed for rout
LUCKNOW: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s organisational experiments, the UPA government’s policies and ‘utter neglect’ of the party workers were blamed for its Lok Sabha election debacle during a state unit leaders’ meeting with the AK Antony committee in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The committee is currently going into the causes of the party’s worst-ever electoral defeat and gathering inputs to draw a roadmap for the future.
“There are no workers left in the Congress organisation. We have been left only with the leaders. The Youth Congress used to be the backbone of the party organisation. But it has failed miserably. There are only a few members left with the youth wing. We only have the president, the vice- president, the general secretary and the secretary in the Youth Congress in all the districts. There are no workers,” said a senior party leader. He was referring to Rahul’s move to introduce elections in the party’s youth and the student wings.
The party vice-president’s experiment of holding primaries to decide the party’s candidates for the Lok Sabha polls was also questioned. “This experiment, carried out in select constituencies, too failed miserably,” said the leader.
“Decontrol of petroleum products led to regular hike in the prices of various essential commodities. The limit on the number of subsidised Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders annoyed the housewives who comprise 50% of the voters,” said a party functionary, adding, “The BJP used all this against us. It even indulged in false propaganda.”
Targeting the UPA ministers, another leader said: “They indulged in corruption. The min- isters lost connect with the people and the workers alike. They ignored the party workers while making nominations to the key positions (committees) in their respective ministries. This way, we failed to reward our workers.”
Suggesting the way forward, another leader said: “Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are our undisputed leaders. An aggressive campaign focusing on public issues is required now. Only then will we be able to revive the party.”
Another leader said the Congress needed to tell the people how the BJP had betrayed them.
“The BJP made tall promises. But now the party is following the policies of the UPA government with respect to the hike in the prices of petroleum products. We need to set the record straight now,” said the leader.