Factionalism hurting Cong, need tough decisions: Kharge at CWC

Smarting under the party’s unexpected poll defeats in Haryana and Maharashtra, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said “tough decisions” would have to be taken by learning lessons from the recent debacles.

In his address during the Congress Working Committee meeting at the AICC headquarters here, Kharge said the EVMs had made the electoral process “suspect” and the Election Commission must ensure “free and fair elections”.

Kharge also slammed factionalism within the party, saying “lack of unity harmed the party more than anything else”. “We must fight elections unitedly and stop making statements against each other to defeat opponents,” he said.

Noting that the performance in the Lok Sabha polls filled the Congress with new enthusiasm, Kharge said the results of the elections in three states held thereafter were not as per expectations.

“INDIA parties formed the government in J&K and Jharkhand. But our performance was below expectation. This is a challenge for us in terms of the future,” he said.

“These results are a message for us... We need to learn from the election results and correct all our weaknesses and shortcomings at the organisational level. We will have to strengthen our organisation up to the booth level. Our preparation from the beginning till the counting of votes should be such that our workers and systems work diligently,” he said.

Party to launch stir seeking ‘fair poll’

Firing a fresh salvo at the Election Commission, the Congress on Friday announced launching a country-wide movement to demand “free and fair elections”