Gujarat polls: BJP-AAP-AIMIM alliance was obstacle for Congress, says Jairam Ramesh

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Saturday, December 10, Saturday, claimed that Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra was unfazed by the Gujarat assembly election results, and said the party's disappointing show in the polls will be analysed and suitable action taken. The party general secretary also claimed that the BJP, AAP and AIMIM had an alliance in Gujarat, which created an obstacle for the Congress. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders know what action has to be taken, he said.

The BJP registered a landslide victory in Gujarat by clinching 156 seats in the 182-member assembly on Thursday, much higher than its tally of 99 seats in 2017. "The election results in Gujarat are disappointing for us. The vote share of Congress dropped from 40 per cent to 27 per cent. But 27 per cent vote share is a foundation and it is not difficult for us to again increase the vote share to 40 per cent," the Congress general secretary said at a press conference in Bundi.

"There is no impact of the Gujarat assembly election results on Bharat Jodo Yatra. Our enthusiasm is like it was before though there are some disappointments. There were a few shortcomings in the organisation, we have to see that analysis will be done and action will be taken. Our party president knows what has to be done," he said.

Ramesh said that despite campaigning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president J P Nadda and Union minister Anurag Thakur in Himachal Pradesh, the "double-engine government" in the hill state "derailed".

The Congress getting the mandate in Himachal Pradesh is a sort of booster dose for the party, he said. "Gujarat election results have proved that the AAP and AIMIM have the common objective of cutting the vote share of Congress. BJP, AAP and AIMIM had an alliance in Gujarat and it was an obstacle for us. We were fighting that," Ramesh alleged.

Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh were to be held together. But the Gujarat polls were held later so that the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister and others could focus on that state, the Congress general secretary claimed.

The Congress general secretary told the press conference that Mahila Shakti Yatra will be held in Bundi on December 12 in which female public representatives, leaders, and other women will accompany Rahul Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi is also likely to join this yatra, he said.