Senior Congress leader lalatendu Bidyadhar (lulu) Mohapatra, who lost by a slender margin of 1,348 votes from his BJD rival Sanjay Dasburma in the Brahmagiri Assembly constituency, on Saturday said his party had never contested the elections with a view to win and that the spiritless commanders of the party had made little effort to mobilise the cadre.
“All the Congress candidates, who have emerged victorious, had fought on their own strength. There was no push or assistance from the Congress at all. The so-called big leaders of the State Congress were confined to their own constituencies and busy protecting their own interests, and this led to the devastation for the party,” said Mohapatra in his reaction to the party’s electoral drubbing.
Reacting to the PCC president Jayadev Jena’s statement owning up the responsibility for the worst-ever performance of party in the state, he said, “Someone who cannot deliver should not accept positions of responsibility.”The Congress drew blank in the lok Sabha polls while it secured only 16 seats in the Assembly elections.A whole lot of angry Congress leaders and workers are gearing up to take on the State leadership at the first opportunity, which will in all probability be the customary post-poll review and introspection meeting.