After its impressive performance in the Gujarat Assembly polls, the Congress on Wednesday began a three-day conclave to review the party’s performance and discuss the factors that worked for and against the party.
On Friday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who led the party’s campaigning in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home State, will meet in different batches region-wise party leaders to ascertain their views and review how the party fared in each district.
Good showing
The Congress won 77 seats, while its alliance partner Bhartiya Tribal Party won two seats. The party-backed Independent won one seats, while two other Independents who won were Congress rebels. The ruling BJP won only 99 seats, its lowest tally since 1995 in the State.
Though the Congress’ tally improved from 43 to 77, its four top leaders Arjun Modhvadia, Shaktisinh Gohil, Siddharth Patel and Tushar Chaudhary lost the polls while young leaders like Paresh Dhanani and Alpesh Thakor have emerged as the new leaders of the Opposition party in Gujarat.
“We have called a review meeting to discuss the party’s performance,” said Ashok Gehlot, Congress general secretary in charge of Gujarat. “Our performance was excellent but we fell short of forming the government as we lost 16 seats with a margin of fewer than 3,000,” he said.
“After the two-day review meeting, Congress president Rahul ji will come to Ahmedabad to meet the leaders, new legislators and those who lost the polls to discuss the factors that have worked for and against the party,” State Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki told presspersons in Mehsana, where the review meeting is being held.
