Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party MP Rahul Gandhi.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: Shocked by the magnitude of the I.N.D.I.A bloc's defeat in Maharashtra, Congress on Saturday said the results were "unexpected" and "surprising and inexplicable" and promised to get to the bottom of the issue as it claimed that the level-playing field was disturbed in a targeted manner to defeat it.
Even as they congratulated partners for the victory in Jharkhand, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said they would analyse the Maharashtra outcome. Party leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera said the victories elsewhere would not prevent the party from raising the issue of transparency in the conduct of elections.
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Kharge said the results were "unexpected" and the party is trying to "get to the bottom" of these results and "understand the real reasons" even as he insisted that the Maha Vikas Aghadi parties are the "true representatives of the ideology of Chhatrapati Shivaji, Shahu-ji, Phule and Babasaheb Ambedkar" and that "the fight is long and we will continue to raise the issues of the people".
Rahul too echoed Kharge and described the results as "unexpected" and they would " analyse those in detail". On Jharkhand, he said congratulating JMM chief Hemant Soren, "this victory of the alliance in the state is a victory for the protection of water, forest and land, along with that of the Constitution."
Kharge said the people of Jharkhand have given priority to the issues of their rights, water, forests and land and have "rejected divisive and false politics". They have "defeated the game of misuse of constitutional institutions. We have to fight for social justice, raise the voice of the people, and form an accountable government," he added.
Congress General Secretary (Communications) Ramesh said the Maharashtra results was "surprising, inexplicable for us".
Addressing a press conference here, Ramesh said, "the Maharashtra outcome has been brought out through a targeted conspiracy after the level-playing field was disturbed in the state to defeat the Congress... Our morale is not down and we will strengthen the organisation and analyse the results."
He said the Maharashtra results were opposite to the ground situation in the state a few months ago and the party would analyse the poll outcome and come out with measures to strengthen the organisation and revive it in the state and continue to raise the issues that we have been raising.
Ramesh said they would keep raising questions on electoral transparency and there will be no change in their agenda. Congress Media and Publicity Department Chairman Khera said they find it their responsibility to keep raising issues of transparency in elections and a victory in Jharkhand would not stop them from raising concerns about Maharashtra.
Khera alleged that the Election Commission did not give any substantive response to its complaints on BJP getting names struck down from electoral rolls.
Both Ramesh and Khera also said the voters in Jharkhand decisively defeated the politics of polarisation, referring to the high octane Hindutva campaign claiming that Bangladeshi infiltrators were taking away the benefits meant for tribals.
Maharashtra Assembly poll 2024 results| Check constituency results here
Jharkhand Assembly poll 2024 results| Check constituency results here
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Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls took place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP went up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress tried to make their mark. Maha Yuti are currently comfortably poised to win. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faced a challenge after Hemant Soren's arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP, but look set to retain power with its I.N.D.I.A. allies. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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