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Calls for reform within Congress after poll debacle
Jasbir Singh Gill, a Member of Parliament, asked the party to review the allotment of tickets and fix responsibility
New Delhi: Congress’s loss of power in Punjab and failure in making much impact in four other states, where elections were held in February and March, have led to calls for reform within the party.
Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor underlined the need for reform in the party’s organisational leadership to reignite Congress’s ideas, positive attitude and to inspire the people. “One thing is clear- Change is unavoidable if we need to succeed,” Tharoor tweeted.
Jasbir Singh Gill, another lawmaker, asked the party to review the allotment of tickets and fix responsibility. “Make accountable the leaders who got tickets for their protégé for cash or kind ignoring the merit and winnability of genuine, hard-working, loyal and honest Congressmen,” Gill tweeted. “Harish Chowdhary & Ajay Maken have to give a lot of explanation for the rout of Congress in Punjab. 3 months before Punjab was sure of winning but after the entry of these two in Punjab for ticket distribution, they ruined the party in the state. They pocketed notes, Opposition pocketed votes.”
Congress leader Randeep Surjewala called on all party leaders to seriously introspect and see if the fight over positions and difference of opinion was so strong that “it is cutting the tree [Congress] itself.”
Former Union minister Ashwani Kumar, who left Congress before the polls, called the election results transformative. “One thing is clear. The Gandhi leadership no longer delivers for the Congress. They are no longer a cementing force.”
A group of Congress leaders, who wrote to Sonia Gandhi in 2020 demanding organisational reforms, was expected to meet to discuss the election results.
