Shimla, Jun 1 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar on Wednesday said the state Congress must review and identify areas where worker engagement was low, the shortcomings in ticket distribution, and organisational weaknesses that surfaced during the campaign for the recently concluded urban local bodies and panchayat elections.
Talking to mediapersons here, he stressed that the reasons behind any electoral setback must be subjected to an impartial review, and accountability must be fixed, so that the organisation can continue to be strong in future.
The BJP won three out of the four municipal corporations — including Mandi, Dharamshala and Solan — in the recently held elections. The ruling Congress managed to retain Palampur.
While the municipal corporation elections were held on a party symbol, elections to other urban local bodies and panchayats were not contested on one.
Kumar said the BJP’s claim of victory in the panchayat and urban local body elections was exaggerated; the saffron party attempts to spin every election result in its own favour with such claims.
However, he said, the Congress would conduct a self-analysis to formulate a future strategy, and strive to fortify the organisation at the grassroots level in Mandi, Solan and other municipal areas.
Congress would learn from the latest election results and assign more active roles to party workers at the local level, Kumar said, underscoring the principle that in a democracy, people’s verdict is supreme and all political parties must respect it.
He said there is no dearth of leaders within the state Congress and there is a need to enhance the activism of party workers at the grassroots.
“These elections are primarily contested based on the candidates’ individual identity, social acceptability, and their work in their respective areas. Voters are well-acquainted with the backgrounds and working styles of the candidates in their locality. Therefore, it is incorrect to directly link these elections to the victory or defeat of any specific political party,” he said. PTI BPL RUK RUK
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