Rahul Gandhi finally speaks up on results, but just, even as calls grow for accountability

Gandhi besides seemed to backmost the determination by the enactment to attack the Election Commission, mentioning “complaints coming from galore Assembly constituencies” successful Haryana.

The Congress leader’s reaction, soundless connected immoderate interior introspection, is acceptable to travel nether expanding strain, arsenic voices turn wrong the enactment implicit the Haryana performance, with respective fingers pointed astatine the precocious bid and seeking accountability.

Many besides expressed bafflement implicit Gandhi’s determination not to accidental thing connected the results Tuesday, and his nonaccomplishment to congratulate NC vice-president Omar Abdullah. Even Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and AICC wide caput Priyanka Gandhi Vadra person been silent.

Omar and Gandhi, incidentally, did not stock the signifier each done the canvass campaign, with Omar expressing exasperation implicit the Congress’s lacklustre efforts successful Jammu, wherever Gandhi remained mostly missing.

However, much than J&K, the Congress needs the Gandhis to combat the fires successful Haryana, wherever the enactment is seen arsenic having mislaid an predetermination that was successful its bag. Many questioned privately, and successful public, the escaped rein to Bhupinder Singh Hooda successful moving the Congress campaign, including summons distribution. While Hooda is believed to person twisted the Congress’s arm, leaders are asking wherefore the precocious bid capitulated.

“While we are talking astir mismanagement by Hooda, his overconfidence, deficiency of micromanagement, faulty summons distribution… 1 should not hide that those sitting successful Delhi allowed him to bash so. Why didn’t they intervene contempt repeated warnings by leaders similar Kumari Selja? So portion Hooda should beryllium blamed, those overseeing the party’s affairs should stock adjacent blame,” 1 person said.

Another person hoped that the enactment would not signifier “yet different committee for introspection”. “Nothing has travel retired of specified committees successful the past. And if they so signifier a committee, it should not beryllium an eyewash.”

Veteran Congress person Margaret Alva, who was erstwhile the AICC wide caput in-charge of Haryana, besides expressed disappointment astatine the results, posting: “Winning required staying neutral & unifying the enactment – striking a equilibrium betwixt idiosyncratic aspiration & the bully of the party. In this predetermination we failed to onslaught that balance. Large numbers of rebel candidates constituent to mediocre enactment management. The petty nationalist squabbles, mendacious bravado & and a run that made galore sections of Haryana nine insecure each led to converting a definite triumph into a loss.”

Speaking to The Indian Express aft the results, Selja, who did not fell her choler with Hooda done the campaign, pointed to the precocious command’s inaction. “The full squad of alleged strategists kept everything successful their ain hands. We kept saying that enactment workers were being ignored, but thing happened. They (the enactment precocious command) called us, they heard us, we gave our prime of candidates, but they didn’t bash anything,” she said.

Senior Congress leaders talked of mismanagement astatine respective levels. Giving an example, a person said: “I was aghast to perceive that a elder BJP person who has sizeable power implicit his caste radical successful a peculiar portion of Haryana was keen to articulation the enactment but the precocious bid kept him waiting for a week. He wanted a summons for his daughter. We each cognize that determination was nary emotion mislaid betwixt that person and Hooda, but the precocious bid should person intervened. And past you induct Ashok Tanwar, present a habitual enactment hopper, close connected the eve of elections… What were we thinking?”

Another person pointed to the beingness of Congress rebels who spoiled the prospects of enactment candidates. “Did we scope retired to them and transportation them to withdraw? Because galore of them were propped up by Hooda himself. And what astir Sunil Kanugolu, our in-house Chanakya? He did constituency-wise surveys to find retired the champion imaginable candidate. Were each of them fixed tickets? What was their performance? And if each were not fixed tickets, past who decided the candidates?” the person said.

In fact, arsenic galore arsenic 72 of the Congress’s 89 candidates were Hooda loyalists. Rivals Selja and AICC wide caput Randeep Surjewala managed to get tickets for a fistful of followers, and the precocious bid for different few. Three of the precocious bid candidates mislaid owed to the beingness of rebels, each of them adjacent to Hooda.

These constituencies included Ballabgarh, wherever authoritative Congress campaigner Parag Sharma got 8,000-plus votes, portion rebel Sharda Rathore secured implicit 44,000 votes; Tigaon, wherever Congress campaigner Rohit Nagar was pushed to the 3rd spot by rebel Lalit Nagar, who got 56,000 votes; and Bhawani-Khera, wherever Pradeep Narwal, who got the summons astatine the lawsuit of Priyanka Vadra, lost, with a rebel hurting his chances. A enactment person besides gave the examples of 2 different seats, Ambala Cantt and Pundri.

The time after, galore leaders besides regretted that the enactment refused to stock seats with the Samajwadi Party successful the Ahirwal loop comprising Yadavs, which they consciousness could person been done easily, dissimilar immoderate woody with the Aam Aadmi Party. “But past again, Hooda was dormant against, and the precocious bid succumbed,” a person said.