The leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge, on Sunday, said although the results of the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections were a set back to the Congress, the performance of the party was much better than during the Lok Sabha elections in both the States.
Speaking to presspersons before leaving for New Delhi via Hyderabad on Sunday in Gulbarga city, Mr. Kharge said that the results have proved yet again that the “Modi wave” was on the wane and the Congress party would come back.
He said that the Congress expected to win around 80 to 90 seats in Maharashtra and 30 seats in Haryana, but several reasons, including the anti-incumbency factor and desertion by senior leaders of the party on the elections, particularly in Haryana, cost the party dearly.
Mr. Kharge, who was chairman of the selection committee of candidates for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, said that the NCP breaking away from Congress has also resulted in a division of secular votes, providing the “much-needed edge” for the BJP. He said with the BJP not likely to get an absolute majority in Maharashtra, there was a possibility of Shiv Sena joining hands with its old ally to form the government in the State.
De-regulation
On de-regulation of the prices of diesel, he said it would have a long-term impact on the poorer sections of the society and farmers who depended on diesel for irrigating their lands. The government should have retained the control of prices on diesel. The decision to revise the prices of the LPG gas once in six months would lead to black-marketing and hoarding and would not help the poorer sections of society.
“Recent measures announced by the BJP government at the Centre prove that the BJP had started showing its true colours of pro-rich”.
