Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has revealed that the Congress leadership has initiated a “postmortem” of its unexpected defeat in the Haryana Assembly elections, describing the results as surprising and needing deeper analysis.
Speaking to ANI, Gehlot shared that a meeting was held with senior leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, who decided to set up a platform for a thorough review. “Postmortem is being done,” Gehlot said. “A meeting was held yesterday where Rahul Gandhi and Kharge ji decided that all candidates—both winners and losers—along with state leaders, will assess what actually happened.”
The Congress had high hopes of winning Haryana, but the BJP managed to secure 48 seats in the 90-member Assembly, leaving Congress with 37 seats, a result that even surprised BJP leaders.
Internal Review and Investigation
On Thursday, Congress leaders, including Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and senior observers like Gehlot and Ajay Maken, convened a review meeting to discuss the results. While Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan and Bhupinder Singh Hooda were notably absent, the session concluded with a decision to form a fact-finding team to investigate the reasons behind the defeat. Complaints about discrepancies in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were also raised.
Addressing the Surprising Outcome
Gehlot expressed disbelief over the outcome, pointing to factors such as factionalism, overconfidence, and caste dynamics as potential contributors. “The entire country was watching that Congress was winning. But what happened suddenly? Surprising results came in,” he noted, emphasizing the need to understand what went wrong.
Ajay Maken also weighed in, stating, “There was a lot of difference between exit polls and actual results. We discussed that and will take appropriate steps going forward.”
The Congress had expected to unseat the BJP, which has governed Haryana for a decade, following positive exit polls and pre-election surveys. However, the party’s inability to secure a victory has now prompted a thorough internal review.
