New Delhi, May 10 (IANS): Interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi has decided to constitute a fact finding committee to find reasons for the partys defeat in the four states which went to the polls recently.
After the Congress Working Committee meeting on Monday, party General Secretary K.C. Venugopal said, "The committee will be constituted within 48 hours."
"I intend to set up a small panel to look at every aspect that caused such reverses (in the elections) and report back very quickly. We need to candidly understand why we failed to dislodge the incumbent governments in Kerala and Assam, and we drew a complete blank in West Bengal," Sonia Gandhi said in the CWC meeting, in which Rahul Gandhi was not present as he is still recovering from Covid-19.
"This CWC meeting has been convened to discuss the results of the recently-held Assembly polls. We have to take note of our serious setbacks. To say that we are deeply disappointed is to make an understatement," she said.
"These will yield uncomfortable lessons, but if we do not face up to the reality, if we do not look the facts in the face, we will not draw the right lessons." she added.
During the meeting, all the state in-charges presented their views on the recent poll debacle, with the party's West Bengal in-charge Jitin Prasada saying the alliance with the Indian Secular Front (ISF), formed by preacher-turned-politician Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui, ruined Congress' prospects in the state, sources said
Congress leader Digvijay Singh asserted that the alliance with the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) in Assam was wrong, while Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the party should have committee at the AICC level to deal with the alliances, sources said.
The party's in-charge for Kerala, Tariq Anwar, told the CWC that Congress became overconfident which led to its defeat in the state, and by the time it realised the same, it was too late, sources said.
The party's Assam in-charge Jitendra Singh informed that after the late Tarun Gogoi, Congress did not have a big face in the state, while smaller parties like Raijor Dal also dented the party's vote share.