New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS): After Congress's disappointing performance in the Delhi Assembly elections, where it failed to secure a significant share of votes, Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav on Monday expressed optimism for the future and committed to winning back the hearts of the people.

Talking to IANS, Devender Yadav discussed the party's strategy moving forward, acknowledging the challenges posed by the strong showings of the BJP and AAP. While BJP achieved a landslide victory and AAP secured the second spot, Congress struggled to make a mark.

"Look, there are two things. I am happy that our cadre fought the election well," Yadav said.

"Throughout the campaign, we were in what felt like a triangular fight. The result was that we managed to increase our vote share by 2 per cent, which holds value for us. The votes we expected to come to us did, and we made progress. However, Delhi felt that AAP was the better option to prevent the BJP from winning, so much of our minority and Dalit vote share went to AAP."

Yadav, however, remained hopeful about Congress's future prospects, vowing to strengthen the party's presence in Delhi.

"In the coming time, we will sharpen our fight. We are committed to gaining the trust of the people and proving to them that Congress is their only option. We will continue to work hard and win their hearts."

Congress's performance in the elections was further underscored by a troubling statistic: out of the 699 candidates in the Delhi Assembly elections, 555 lost their deposits. Congress candidates forfeited their deposits in all but three seats.

Reflecting on this, Yadav said, "We had hoped that the minority and Dalit votes would go to Congress. However, since we were not seen as a viable alternative for forming the government, those votes shifted to AAP. But I believe that over time, this will change, and our situation will improve."

The Delhi Congress chief also responded to criticism from Shiv Sena, which questioned Congress’s decision to contest the Delhi elections. Some party members argued that Congress’s presence in the race only helped AAP by splitting the vote.

Yadav, however, disagreed. "I have always said that one must visit Delhi and understand the reality of the AAP government. If they had come here and witnessed the situation firsthand, their views might have changed. But we fought our election as we believed it was important to make our stand clear. All parties fight elections, and we fought with all our strength."

Addressing AAP’s criticism that Congress focused solely on attacking AAP during the campaign, Yadav clarified, "Yes, we did focus on AAP more, especially since they were in power. Our goal was to challenge the AAP government on issues like inflation and unemployment. We needed to hold them accountable because they were in charge, both in Delhi and in the Municipal Corporation."

When asked about comments from senior Congress leader Tariq Anwar, who raised concerns about the need for changes within the party’s organisational structure after the defeat, Yadav said, "We were all in agreement that each party should fight its own election. We did that, and we will continue to fight."

Yadav concluded by reaffirming Congress’s role as the main Opposition in Delhi.

"We have always performed our duty as the main opposition, and we will do so with even more strength going forward," he concluded.