Rahul blames leaders for defeat in Haryana assembly polls

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was angry at the review meeting held on the party’s defeat in the Haryana assembly polls. It is reported that he accused the Congress leaders in Haryana of being selfish and that they have caused loss to the party. Rahul was speaking at the meeting held at party president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence. Leaders Ajay Maken, Ashok Gehlot, Deepak Babaria and K C Venugopal also attended the meeting.

Reports Rahul, who was silent in the meeting, made two strong points when it was his turn to speak. One was to investigate and submit a detailed report in case of irregularities in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The second point caused a great silence in the meeting. ‘This was a winnable election. It is reported that the second point was that the local leaders are interested in their own progress rather than the party. Many leaders responded by blaming EVMs. Reports also said that Rahul left the meeting saying that the leaders are not thinking about the party.

The party has formed a committee to assess the cause of the unexpected defeat of the polls. This is not the first time that there has been infighting in the Congress after an election defeat. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan are also recent examples.