NEW DELHI: The delay in finalizing the allocation of seats for the Bihar elections negatively affected the performance of the Mahagathbandhan polls, Congress Leader Tariq Anwar said on Sunday, saying that Congress must learn from it and complete the formalities of the alliance well in advance of the next assembly elections.
Anwar, the party’s general secretary and veteran leader of Bihar, acknowledged that there were shortcomings as a result of which the party performed worse than other constituents of ‘Mahagathbandhan’ and stated that the high command was serious about introspection and a thorough analysis of the results. .
In an interview with the PTI, Anwar said that the results of the Bihar poll were “definitely below” the expectations of Congress and that it was a setback to get only 19 of the 70 seats he was contesting.
“There was an atmosphere of change with enthusiasm among ordinary people, but we could not exploit that. We had the expectation that with Congress fighting for 70 seats, it would win at least 50 percent of the seats,” said the former minister. of the Union.
“Our government was not formed and we (Congress) also have a responsibility in that. Looking ahead, our efforts will be directed at strengthening Congress and the Mahagathbandhan and we will make a strategy for this,” he said.
His comments take on significance as several poll analysts have stated that Congress dragged the Mahagathbandhan down as it fell short of the majority mark, with the NDA under Nitish Kumar’s leadership coming out victorious in the polls by a narrow margin.
Anwar, who was a member of the party’s ballot box steering committee, said there should be introspection and “we have also demanded that it happen.”
He said the high command was ready for introspection and emphasized that the top leadership had provided all possible support during the elections and that former party chief Rahul Gandhi also held many public meetings in the state.
“But there have been deficiencies on our part, otherwise we should have won 35-40 seats. So if there were deficiencies in the organization or in the campaign, all of that will be discussed and analyzed and it will be determined why the performance of Congress it wasn’t that good. ” on par with other Mahagathbandhan partners, “he said.
Anwar said the reasons below cannot be immediately determined, but the important thing was to identify the mistakes made and ensure that they are not repeated in Assembly polls in four states and one Union territory in the next months.
“We want discussions to take place with those involved in this election, our candidates and the congressional district committees in Bihar and only then can we come to a conclusion,” said the 69-year-old leader, who won the Lok Sabha polls several times since. Bihar. Katihar said.
The high command is definitely concerned about the results in Bihar, he said.
When asked if the delay in consolidating the Mahagathbandhan alliance and the agreement to share seats hurt the electoral performance of the Opposition coalition, Anwar said: “Yes, I remember that Rahul ji had said in July that we should finish the consolidation process. of the alliance and other formalities “.
“Whatever the reason, that did not happen and you are right, there was a long delay in finalizing the alliance and it was sealed when the elections were very close,” he said.
If the formalities had been completed earlier, then perhaps the Mahagathbandhan would have gained the upper hand in the election campaign, Anwar said.
The contradictions of the Alliance need some time to be resolved and we did not have that time, he said.
On rumors in Congress about the distribution of tickets, Anwar said the party is assessing what deficiencies there were.
The high command is ready for introspection, but there are Diwali and Chhat festivals, after which high-level party observers can be sent to the state for a thorough analysis.
He said Congress must quickly learn from its mistakes, as elections will be held in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry next year, for which the party should be ready for battle.
“We must be ready in advance and I agree that if we are to seek alliances, the formalities of those alliances must be completed as soon as possible,” he said.
On All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen abolishing the Mahagathbandhan, Anwar said that if any political party wants to challenge “we cannot stop them”, but there is a “common understanding” that the role of AIMIM is to somehow help the BJP.
“If we had moved to protect our position in Seemanchal and carried out our party activities early, then AIMIM would not have been successful there. With the arrival of AIMIM, certainly the secular parties have been hit and if we look at it, they have won five seats but would have damaged the Mahagathbandhan by 15 seats, “Anwar said.
When asked if the lack of clarity about the party’s presidency was hurting Congress, he said that the party’s voting panel under Madhusudan Mistry has already started the process to get a full-time president.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, an AICC session could not be convened, but once the situation stabilizes, the process will be completed next year, he said.
Anwar also praised Rahul Gandhi for setting an example to other leaders by resigning after the defeat of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
“There is no dispute about Rahul Gandhi (for the election of the presidency), the question is if he wants to assume it,” he said.
Mahagathbandhan, led by RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, won 110 seats, 12 less than the magic number of 122 in the 243-member Bihar Assembly. The NDA won 125 seats.
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