The Congress office wears a deserted look in New Delhi after the election results were announced.
IANS/New Delhi
The Congress headquarters in the national capital wore a deserted look yesterday after the drubbing the party received in the assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra. Only a group of workers was around, demanding a bigger role for Priyanka Gandhi in the party.
No leaders were available at the party headquarters to comment on the poll debacle. Party spokesman Ajay Maken came in the morning, but as it became clear that the Congress was faces defeat in both states, he too left the office.
Jagdish Sharma, a local Congress worker, said the reason behind the electoral debacle of the Congress was the disconnect between the cadre and the leadership.
“We are losing elections because the disconnect between the leaders and the cadre is very glaring. We do not have any access to the top leaders or the high command,” Sharma said.
Earlier in the day, about 100 party workers gathered at 24 Akbar Road, the party’s head office, and batted for Priyanka Gandhi’s formal induction into the grand old party.
The workers, mostly women, carried banners showing Priyanka Gandhi’s portrait and raised slogans “Priyanka Gandhi Congress Bachao” (Priyanka Gandhi save Congress) and “Priyanka lao, desh bachao” (Bring Priyanka and save the country).
“Priyanka Gandhi should be inducted into the party. She should help party vice president Rahul Gandhi to rebuild the Congress,” Sharma said.
Maharashtra Congress leader Priyanka Chaturvedi, however, said there was no need to despair as the party has performed better in both states compared to what it did during the general elections in April-May this year.
“In democracy, some people lose and some win. In these elections, though we lost, we have shown a better performance compared to the parliamentary elections,” Chaturvedi said.
Party president Sonia Gandhi accepted the poll verdict and reiterated her party’s resolve to play a “constructive and vigilant” role.
“The people of Maharashtra and Haryana trusted us with their mandate thrice and twice, respectively. We hope that the parties forming the government will fulfill the promises that they made,” Gandhi said in a statement.
“We thank our supporters and voters for having stood by us, and our workers for their tireless and unstinting commitment to the party and its ideology,” she said.
