New Delhi, Mar 5 (Zee News): Congress president Rahul Gandhi has finally broken his silence on the poll debacle in the Assembly elections in northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland. Taking to microblogging site Twitter, the Gandhi scion said that the “Congress party respects the mandate of the people of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya”.

The Congress president further said that the leadership was committed to strengthening the party across northeast and winning back the trust of the people.

He tweeted, “The Congress party respects the mandate of the people of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya. We are committed to strengthening our party across the North East and to winning back the trust of the people. My sincere thanks to each and every Congress worker who toiled for the party.”

Rahul Gandhi, who had gone to Italy to meet his 93-year-old grandmother during the Holi weekend was criticised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for “abandoning party workers at a crucial time”.

Hitting out at the Congress chief, Union minister Giriraj Singh had said, "He is not a natural leader, he is a gift of circumstances. He was born to a queen. Once he disappeared for 56 days, today also he has gone. No leader leaves workers at such crucial time. He cannot handle stress."

The Congress did not fare well in the elections in the northeastern states. While it failed to get even a single seat in Tripura, the party also lost Meghalaya after governing the state for 10 years. Despite emerging as the single largest party in Meghalaya, the Congress faltered on gathering numbers for government formation in the state.

The BJP, on the other hand, performed exceptionally well. While it toppled Manik Sarkar-led Left Front government in Tripura, it also went on to secure the numbers for government formation in Meghalaya with the help of allies.