Daggers were out in the Congress after it was decimated yet again in the Delhi assembly elections with calls for immediate action to put the organisation back on the rails.
Former Lok Sabha member Sandeep Dikshit fired the first salvos accusing a section of the leadership of “bad-mouthing and insulting” three-term Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who passed away last year.
“Some senior leaders of the party only insulted and badmouthed Sheila Ji in the last 6-7 years, even when we were in power. If you do this, on one hand, playing a role in the defeat of Congress, and later claim credits for her work, then who will believe you,” Sandeep asked.
Delhi Mahila Congress President Sharmishtha Mukherjee blamed the party's dismal performance on delay in decision-making by the party leadership, lack of strategy and unity at the state level and not grassroots connect of the leaders as reasons for the defeat.
AICC in-charge of Delhi P C Chacko and Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra offered to step down from their post to allow the party leadership to recast and rebuild the organisation.
“We will rebuild the party from the scratch, from the drawing board, whatever would need to be done and sacrifices that would need to be made, no Congressman or woman will shy away from it,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters here.
Surjewala, who addressed a press conference here along with Chacko, Chopra and campaign committee chairman Kirti Azad, faced questions about lack of coordination among the leadership, factionalism in the party and offers by the leaders to quit their posts.
“Such decisions are not taken in press conferences. They are taken in the organisation in a structured and serious fashion. The party is not going to just wish away the fact that we have been defeated,” he said.
A section of Congress tried to give a spin to the party's defeat contending that it has taken a “tactical retreat” to ensure that the AAP defeats the BJP convincingly. However, the argument was also received with skepticism.
“Congress should avoid things like justifying defeat, finding happiness in the BJP's defeat and telling itself that wins and losses are cyclic in elections,” Congress leader Jaiveer Shergill said.