Thiruvananthapuram: Owning up to the defeat of the UDF in the local-body election KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran said, “Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan.”
In 2019, when UDF won 19 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats no one handed me bouquets. But I am at the receiving end for our poor showing in the recently concluded election. “My detractors have me cornered. I take the entire responsibility for the defeat,’’ he told reporters, here, on Friday.
General political issues did not emerge as topics of debate in the election. “Lapses have occurred and we will rectify them. We will bounce back in the assembly election. There has been a healthy discussion in the political affairs committee meeting, which also witnessed constructive criticism. There was no demand for leadership change in the party,” he added.
“I am not ready to divulge details of the political affairs committee meeting. It is an internal matter of the party. I accept that there has been constructive criticism. Our effort now is on undoing our mistakes,’’ Ramachandran said.
There has been erosion in our vote bank in the central districts, the KPCC president said. “This cannot be solely attributed to the Jose K Mani factor. But we have seen our traditional vote share shrink, and we will win it back,’’ he said.
The Congress will analyze the results in a two-day sitting of party leaders, including all MPs, party office-bearers and political affairs committee members. The session will be held on January 6 and 7.
The coming days will be devoted to thrashing out the issues, for which party committees will meet at various levels. KPCC secretaries in charge of respective districts have been asked to submit a detailed report on reasons for the defeat, which will be discussed in the two-day meeting of party leaders.
On the open criticism from senior leaders, the KPCC president said, “This is not the time for mudslinging. We should stand united, discuss and rectify lapses that have occurred. All leaders should refrain from making such comments,” Ramachandran said.