Sonia Gandhi says need to understand why Congress failed in Kerala, Assam and drew complete blank in Bengal

Sonia Gandhi said that she will be setting up a small group to look at every aspect of the party’s failure in the polls.

The interim president of Congress Sonia Gandhi today presided upon the the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet to discuss the drubbing that the party faced in the recent polls. She said that the introspection could yield uncomfortable lessons but it’s needed to draw a right lesson. “We need to candidly understand why in Kerala and Assam we failed to dislodge incumbent governments and why in West Bengal we drew a complete blank. These will yield uncomfortable lessons, but if we don’t face up to reality, if we do not look facts in the face, we won’t draw the right lessons,” said Sonia Gandhi.

Sonia Gandhi said that she will be setting up a small group to look at every aspect of the party’s failure in the polls. “While all of us are preoccupied with COVID-19, this meet has been convened to discuss poll results. To say we’re deeply disappointed is to make an understatement. I intend to set up a small group to look at every aspect and report back very quickly,” said Sonia Gandhi.

She also said that a schedule for electing the party’s new president is ready and the process will be completed by June end. “When we met on Jan 22nd, we’d decided that process for electing Congress President would be completed by end-June. Election authority chairperson Madhusudan Mistri has prepared a schedule for it,” she said.

Sonia Gandhi also hit out at the Modi government over its vaccine policy. She said that the Modi government has abdicated its responsibility and left vaccination to states. “It would have been financially more equitable for the Centre to provide free vaccine to all,” she said.

Sonia Gandhi said that the COVID-19 situation has become even more catastrophic in the past four weeks. “Governance failures have become even starker. Scientific advice has been willfully ignored and the country is paying a horrendous price for Modi government’s neglect of the pandemic,” she added.

She thanked the international community for helping India. “That we should be placed in such position reflects monumental arrogance, incompetence and vain triumphalism of ruling establishment,” she said hitting out at the Modi government.