A day after the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee was left red-faced due to the thin attendance of supporters at the Ambedkar Nagar rally of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, senior party leaders said on Monday that it was “due to miscalculation on the part of party strategists in organising the rally, just a day after the last date of filing nominations for the Assembly polls”.
“The turnout was not as bad as projected by the media. But, we accept that there was a miscalculation in deciding the date for the rally. Since Saturday was the last date of filing nominations, many party workers could not get involved in the preparation for the rally,” said a senior Congress leader.
The party leaders also cited lack of adequate drinking water at the venue due to security reasons as one of the factors for a certain section of the audience to leave the venue by the time Mr. Gandhi arrived.
The party leaders, however, said they had learnt a lesson from the Ambedkar Nagar rally and proper arrangements will be made for the upcoming rallies of Prime Minister Manomhan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Ms. Gandhi is scheduled to address a rally at Shastri Park in East Delhi on November 24, while Dr. Singh is likely to address a rally in West Delhi on November 30.
Mr. Gandhi addressed his second election rally in Ambedkar Nagar, a Congress stronghold, on Sunday. He was scheduled to address the rally at 9 a.m. However, the Congress vice-president reached the venue around four hours late. By the time he addressed the rally, a section of the audience had already left.
