We accept people's mandate; will introspect, return with new strategy: Congress

After its resounding defeat in the Assembly polls in five states, the Congress on Thursday said the results are contrary to its expectations, but it accepts the people's mandate.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said they may have lost the elections but not their courage and will continue to fight till they emerge victorious.

He said party president Sonia Gandhi will soon convene a meeting of the Congress Working Committee to dwell on the reasons for the defeat and introspect.

Surjewala said the Congress will reinvent itself and bounce back with a new strategy, adding that it will always stand with the people, raising their issues, including inflation, unemployment and a "sinking" economy.

"We will introspect on the causes of the defeat, work on the organisation and try to do better in the future. We are definitely disappointed but not demoralised. We have only lost the elections, not our courage. We are not going anywhere, we will keep fighting until we win. We will reinvent ourselves and come back with a new strategy," he said.

"Very soon, Congress president Sonia Gandhi will be calling a meeting of the Congress Working Committee to discuss threadbare all the issues that affected us in the five states.

"All issues will be discussed threadbare. We have to do course correction, we have to introspect and find a way ahead. We have to ensure that people-centric issues continue to be relevant in our democracy. For if people's issues are dead, then that will be the death-knell for our democracy," the Congress spokesperson said.

In a message to those indulging in intra-party rivalry due to which it lost the poll battle in some states, Surjewala said the leaders at the state level would have to introspect on whether they are cutting the same tree that they are sitting on.

They will also have to introspect on whether for desperately achieving something in politics, they are not strengthening other parties by defeating the Congress, he added.

"If we break the branch on which we are sitting on, then the tree, the branch and the leaders will also fall as has been evident today in some states," the Congress leader said.

He said leaders are the face of the party on the ground and every state leader needs to seriously introspect, re-examine and rethink whether the war of positions among themselves is undermining the party's position.

"Whether the war or the quest for positions has become so bitter that we are harming or cutting the very tree that the Congress people are sitting upon. That is a question each one of us must think about," Surjewala said.

In Punjab, he said even though the party presented a humble, clean and grounded leadership, it failed to overcome the anti-incumbency of four-and-a-half years of the Amarinder Singh government and people voted for change.

"The election results of the five states have come against the party's expectations. We were expecting good results in Uttarakhand, Goa and Punjab, but we accept that we failed to get the people's blessings.

"We accept the verdict of the people and congratulate the Aam Aadmi Party, Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal for their victory in Punjab," Surjewala said.

In Uttar Pradesh, he said even though the Congress was successful in reviving the party organisation, it "could not convert public opinion into seats".

The Congress was successful in reaching every street and locality in Uttar Pradesh, Surjewala said, adding, "We put up a tough fight in Uttarakhand and Goa, but could not emerge victorious."

"This is a lesson that we need to work harder on the ground," he said.

"We made every effort to keep these elections away from the issues of casteism and religious polarisation. But thanks to the BJP's massive campaign, emotional issues dominated over the issues of education, health, inflation and unemployment," he added.

In a democracy, the decision of the people is paramount, Surjewala said.

The Congress takes this opportunity to extend its felicitations to all political parties and individuals who have won the poll battle in the five states, he said.

"In a democracy, the decision of the people is ultimate and we completely bow before the verdict of the people. We accept that we have not been able to completely win the trust of the people in these states," Surjewala said.

The Congress stood out as a party that tried to attach primacy to the issues of inflation, unemployment, a sinking economy, better infrastructure, better facilities for health and education over the issues of division, hatred, religious polarisation and caste division, he said, adding, "It does seem that the emotional issues did overtake these fundamental issues affecting the lives of people."

"We are disappointed, but determined to work with the people of India to resurrect ourselves from the grassroots by having a detailed introspection," Surjewala said.