Cong to assess setback in states won before Lok Sabha polls: Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has said the Lok Sabha poll mandate is a "decisive rejection" of the politics of divisiveness and hate, and stressed that the INDIA bloc must continue functioning cohesively both inside and outside Parliament.In his opening remarks at the Congress Working Committee meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, Kharge also asserted that while celebrating its "revival", the party should pause a little as it did not perform to its abilities and expectations in some states.
"Further, we could not repeat our performance in states where we had previously done well in Vidhan Sabha elections and formed the government," he said.Separate discussions on each such state will be held soon, he said.
"We have to take urgent remedial measures. These are states which have traditionally favoured the Congress, where we have opportunities which we have to harness not for our own advantage but for the benefit of our people. This exercise I propose to hold very soon," the Congress chief said.Kharge further said whether the party is in power or not, its work continues amongst people "24 hours, 365 days", and raise their issues.The Congress Working Committee congratulated leaders and workers for their determination, will power and resolve.
Going forward, the Congress has to make its presence felt in urban areas as well, he added.Kharge also hailed INDIA bloc partners, saying each party played its designated role in different states, and each party contributed to the other.The issues that we raised in the election campaign are issues that are bothering the people of India. We have to continue to raise them both in Parliament and outside, Kharge said.
Senior party leaders and members of the CWC, along with Congress Legislature Party leaders and Pradesh Congress Committee presidents from various states, will analyse the party's performance and suggest measures to strengthen the organisation.The Congress's top brass, including party chief Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, besides other leaders, were participating in the deliberations.