The Congress has started reviewing the factors responsible for its rout in Uttarakhand where it could not win from any of the five parliamentary seats.
Meanwhile, some party leaders have started blaming others for their defeat with cabinet minister and Congress candidate from Garhwal constituency, Harak Singh Rawat blaming the “inactivity” of previous Garhwal MP and former Congress leader Satpal Maharaj for the Congress’ defeat in Garhwal constituency and questioning the validity of Maharaj’s wife Amrita Rawat retaining her place in the State cabinet. The Congress State spokesman and secretary of the Pradesh Congress Committee disciplinary committee Dhirendra Pratap has urged party leaders to maintain discipline. He said that the statements being made by party leaders, MlAs and ministers in the media amount to indiscipline.
According to the Congress State media in-charge and spokesman Surendra Kumar Agarwal, the party has started receiving feedback and analysis from the candidates, party leaders and workers from various parts of the State. “We are a well organised party and the factors which led to the defeat of our party in the parliamentary polls will be analysed systematically,” he said. Interestingly, while all party leaders in Uttarakhand were earlier strongly denying any wave in favour of BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, these very leaders are now attributing the defeat of Congress in Uttarakhand to the wave in favour of Modi.
Meanwhile, responding to the statements made by some party leaders in the media, the PCC disciplinary committee secretary Dhirendra Pratap issued a statement stating that he and the committee chairman Narendra Singh Bhandari were of the view that Congress leaders should take victory and defeat with equanimity. He informed that the PCC chief Yashpal Arya has called a meeting in Dehradun on May 20 regarding preparations for the Panchayat polls. The PCC, like the party high command in Delhi, will also hold a meeting in the near future to discuss in detail the defeat suffered by the Congress in Uttarakhand. Party leaders should refrain from making questionable statements in the media and raise their issues within the party, stressed Pratap.