Brainstorming by Congress over UP poll debacle

Fresh from its wounds, the Congress Party called a meeting on Thursday to analyse the defeat in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Party candidates, who lost the election by a margin of 20,000 votes, will get an opportunity to express their views on party's dismal performance in the recently concluded elections. Congress secured just 28 of the 403 seats, six more than it had bagged in the Assembly polls of 2007.

The two-day much talked about meeting has been called to strengthen the party at grassroots level. Rahul Gandhi, who led the party in the important polls, is taking the meet seriously as it will lay the ground for the Parliamentary elections 2014.

Now all eyes are on some 156 candidates, who will open up during the meeting. Rahul Gandhi is going to implement their recommendations, said a party source on the condition of anonymity. But the fear is that the move, if implemented, may put some senior leaders into trouble. The least Congress sympathizers are expecting is that candidates recommendations are taken seriously by senior leaders. A new Congress UP Committee may be formed in the state.

Interestingly, senior Congress leaders have not been invited in the meeting so as to give full freedom to losing candidates to speak up. After collecting vital information that led to the debacle, Congress Committee will discuss in detail about ways to revive the party in the state before the 2014 elections.

Efforts will also be made to find out whether remarks aired by senior leaders in the second and third phases jeoperadized Congress chances in the crucial elections. Remarks that raked controversy included of Salman Khursheed's Muslim quota and Digvijay Singh's Batla House statements. Moreover, leaders will also analyse whether Beni's statement of making Rahul prime minister played the spoiler.

Congress National Secretary Pankaj Sharma told TSI that every aspect of the debacle will be analysed. "Had everything worked candidates who lost election by a margin of 20,000 votes would have won. And the party would have easily managed 150 seats."

It is understood that the first phase of election that was fought under Rahul Gandhi's guidance went on well. It was only in the second and third phase that voters moved away from the party.