New Delhi: Enough introspection, complete reinvention and an alternative face to Sheila Dikshit — these are what Congress leaders think the party should do after it failed to open its account in the early trends of the Delhi assembly election results.
By noon, four hours after the counting started, the Congress had garnered just over 4 per cent of the votes against 53 per cent by the Aam Aadmi Party and 39 per cent by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Track all election results updates here.
The party, which had ruled Delhi for 15 years under late Congress leader Sheila Dikshit, drew a blank even in the 2015 elections.
Taking responsibility for the party’s dismal show, Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra told ANI the reason for the party’s drop in vote percentage was the politics of polarisation by both the BJP and AAP.
“I take responsibility for the party’s performance. We will analyse the factors behind this. Reason for the drop in our vote percentage is politics of polarisation by both BJP and AAP,” he said.
Delhi Mahila Congress president and party spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee also took responsibility for the party’s defeat and tweeted “Enuf of introspection, time 4 action now (sic)”.
“Inordinate delay in decision making at the top, lack of strategy & unity at state level, demotivated workers, no grassroots connect — all are factors. Being part of the system, I too take my share of responsibility.”
We r again decimated in Delhi.Enuf of introspection, time 4 action now. Inordinate delay in decision making at the top, lack of strategy & unity at state level, demotivated workers, no grassroots connect-all r factors.Being part of d system, I too take my share of responsibility
— Sharmistha Mukherjee (@Sharmistha_GK) February 11, 2020
Also read: Rahul Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi… 5 reasons Congress sank in Delhi
Three-point plan
Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha tweeted that the first step is to accept the reality of a “serious problem”.
“The Congress party needs a complete reinvention, and it needs to look different in 6 months maximum. It cannot be a 5 year project,” he wrote.
The first step to renewal is accepting the reality of a serious problem. Living in denial is postponing the inevitable.
The Congress party needs a complete reinvention, and it needs to look different in 6 months maximum. It cannot be a 5 year project. #DelhiResults
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) February 11, 2020
Another party spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill gave a three-point plan of what the Congress should not do after the results.
3 Things Congress should NOT do today:
1. Justify own defeat
2. Find happiness in BJP defeat
3. Tell themselves that in Election wins & losses are cyclicCongratulations to @AamAadmiParty for a well deserved victory & running a focussed campaign.
— Jaiveer Shergill (@JaiveerShergill) February 11, 2020
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Singhvi stressed on the need to find an alternative face to Sheila Dikshit.
Ask my friends, tv channels today, In court, In parliament. I had said bjp wl b near 15. Looks like that. #delhielections #AAP latter have done reasonably good work in edu, Health & sahayaks. #INC has 2search 4 an alternative shiela face& back him/ her for4 years starting now.
— Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) February 11, 2020
The counting of votes for the 70 assembly seats is still underway.
Election Commission trends at 4 pm show that AAP is leading in 52 seats, having won 11 seats. Arvind Kejriwal is leading in the New Delhi constituency by 33,830 votes, according to the EC website.
The current trends indicate a reduced majority for the party since 2015, when the AAP won 67 seats.
Also read: AAP victory in Delhi just showed Congress how to plan for 2024: Find an Arvind Kejriwal