CWC Meeting: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has taken "100 per cent responsibility" for the defeat.
Rahul Gandhi today addressed top Congress leaders at a post-mortem of a national election debacle which, many say, exposes an existential crisis for the grand old party. During the high-level meeting that went for over three hours, the Congress president kept insisting that he should resign as party president, but it was unanimously rejected, sources say. Congress leaders praised him and gave him authority to reorganise the party, they added. The top leadership of the Congress met to review the party's dismal showing in the national election. The party managed to win only 52 seats, way below the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance which won over 350 seats in the 542 Lok Sabha constituencies that went to polls.
Mr Gandhi has taken "100 per cent responsibility" for the defeat. He had centred his election campaign around PM Modi, accusing him of corruption in the Rafale deal, unemployment and weak economy. He also ran "chowkidar chor hai" campaign against PM Modi. The meeting is being held a day after three state chiefs of the party sent their resignations to their boss who himself could not keep his traditional seat Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress Working Committee includes general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, her mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and the chief ministers of all Congress-ruled states - Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Here are the Highlights on CWC meeting today:
Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra leave decision to Rahul Gandhi on quitting as an "individual call", say sources
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad:- A loss is never dissected in detail at the first Working Committee meeting, it will happen in the coming days, there will be introspection
- Congress president Rahul Gandhi was thanked at the meeting for his extensive campaign across the country
- He (Rahul Gandhi) led the party well, leadership is not always clear on television
- He (Rahul Gandhi) effectively raised the shortcomings of the government, win-loss are part of democracy
- At the meeting, Rahul Gandhi said I am party president, I have an accountability for the loss and insisted that he step down
- But I have never such unanimity as I saw today in the Working Committee rejecting his (Rahul Gandhi's) offer to resign
- If anyone can lead the opposition, it is Rahul Gandhi; he has demonstrated this in the past few years
Congress leader AK Antony says:- Don't agree it (Congress' election outcome) was a disastrous performance, but it was not as per expectation
- Today we only had a general discussion, we will have detailed discussion on the results later
- Not true nothing happened (after 2014 results), some recommendations were adopted
A Congress press conference post the top party meet is now underway:
Congress calls press conference at 3:30 pm at party headquarters, KC Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala to address reporters
Congress leaders praised him, gave him authority to reorganise the party, sources say.
Rahul Gandhi's offer to resign as party president was unanimously rejected in the high-level meeting, sources say.
The high-level Congress meet to analyse the poll performance lasted for three hours.
Rahul Gandhi, other Congress leaders emerge after high-level crisis meeting.
Congress working Committee meeting ends.
Rahul Gandhi addressed top Congress leaders at the CWC meet to analyse the party's national election debacle which, many say, exposes an existential crisis for the grand old party.
Congress Working committee is expected to end soon.
Rahul Gandhi addressing CWC meet
Sonia Gandhi only Congress lawmaker in UP
The Congress ended up with only one seat - Sonia Gandhi's Raebareli - of the state's 80 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh.
The Prime Minister won from his seat Varanasi by a margin of over 4.7 lakh votes.
Congress won two seats in Chhattisgarh, one in Madhya Pradesh
The Congress saw a drubbing in 17 states and union territories and couldn't do any better even in the three heartland states it won just in December.
The party won two seats in Chhattisgarh, one in Madhya Pradesh and none in Rajasthan.
Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi campaigned extensively for 2019 polls
Both Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra campaigned extensively across the country in this election. The end result was a bigger disaster for the party than ever. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP and its allies won a spectacular mandate of over 350 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha to continue for a second term.
Rahul Gandhi's nationwide campaign circling around his "Chowkidar Chor Hai" barb for PM Modi failed to capture the public imagination or even translate into votes.
Rahul Gandhi's resignation rejected at CWC meet
Rahul Gandhi offered to resign today over the Congress's national election debacle and the party rejected in the time-honoured tradition of an organization that has rarely looked beyond the Nehru-Gandhi family against all reason.
The Congress, shell-shocked with its 52-seat haul - only a few more than its historic low of 44 in 2014 - stuck to the template as it responded to Rahul Gandhi's mea culpa in a post-mortem by the party's top decision-making body.
Congress increased its 2014 tally by just 8 to a measly 52 seats.
"Besides Rahul Gandhi's resignation, I expect accountability. I would say to Congress- get your leaders back, at least in Gujarat", senior journalist Nalini Singh says.
In 2014, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi had offered to resign, but it was rejected by the Congress leaders.
Congress Working Committee meeting begins.
First shots from inside the Congress Working Committee meeting at the party office in Delhi:
Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arrive for Congress Working Committee meeting:
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives for Congress Working Committee meeting:
P Chidambaram and Siddaramaiah arrive for Congress Working Committee meeting:
UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi arrives for Congress Working Committee meeting:
Top Congress leaders Ahmed Patel, Motilal Vohra, Gaurav Gogoi, Asha Kumari, Venugopal Rao, Randeep Surjewala and Ashok Gehlot have arrived to attend the Congress Working Committee meeting in Delhi today.
Fifty-two members of the Congress Working Committee, which includes general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, her mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and the chief ministers of all Congress-ruled states - Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh - will meet today.
The top leadership body of the Congress will meet today to discuss what went down for the party in the national election after the National Democratic Alliance, powered by the pan-India campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, won over 350 seats in the 542 Lok Sabha constituencies that went to polls.