Congress Working Committee to meet on May 10 to discuss party's poll debacle

NEW DELHI: Acknowledging that the Congress had a poor outing in the recently-held Assembly elections, party chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday said the Congress Working Committee (CWC) will meet shortly to review the results.Addressing a virtual meeting of the parliamentary party, she congratulated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and the LDF in Kerala for their victories.

“Most unfortunately, our own performance in all the states was very disappointing and if I may say, unexpectedly so. The CWC is meeting shortly to review the results but it goes without saying that we as a party collective must draw the appropriate lessons from this setback in a spirit of humility and honesty,” she said.

The Congress failed to even win a seat in West Bengal. Neither could it wrest back power from the BJP in Assam or Kerala. In Tamil Nadu, it contested in alliance with the DMK.  The historic second term for the LDF in Kerala has come as a big setback for the party as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is an MP from the state’s Wayanad district, was personally looking after the poll management. 

Many party leaders have called for introspection, following the results and that party needs to reconnect with the people on the ground in the coming months. The CWC meeting is expected to see some tough talk by senior party leaders who have been questioning the party’s leadership over a series of poll defeats.