NEW DELHI: The Congress's humiliating defeat in the recently concluded Delhi assembly elections has led to calls within the party for a complete overhaul. Leaders like Jairam Ramesh , Verrappa Moily, Jyotiraditya Scindia feel the Congress needs to reinvent itself to face the new challenges.

Voicing concern over the Congress debacle in Delhi and the crisis the party is facing in some states like Bihar and the Uttar Pradesh, senior leader Jairam Ramesh suggested that the party "ruthlessly" reinvent itself or face the prospect of becoming irrelevant.

Citing the Delhi results and how the BJP utilised the Shaheen Bagh's anti-CAA protest to "polarise" votes, the senior Congress leader said, "In the short run BJP has not won but the result is a disaster for the Congress party also."

"It is an unmitigated disaster like coronavirus for the Congress," the former Union minister said.

Speaking on minority communalism, Jairam Ramesh said: "We have to be very clear. We should not be pandering to any religious sentiment of anybody and that is real secularism."

"We have to be bold and aggressive against all forms of communalism. Unfortunately in the public, the propaganda is that the Congress is soft on minority communalism. It is a reality. We have to address this issue. We cannot live in a make-believe world. We should wake up," the Rajya Sabha MP, also a key Congress strategist, said.

Congress general secretary Jyotiraditya Scindia also said that the party needs to reinvent itself with new ideology, new thinking and new ways of functioning.

"It is highly disappointing for our party. There is an urgent need for a new ideology & a new work process. Country has changed, so we also need to opt for a new way of thinking and connect with the people of the country," Scindia said when asked about the Delhi election results.

On Wednesday, senior leader Veerappa Moily had called for a "surgical" action to revive the party in the context of the Delhi election drubbing.

Earlier, Congress spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee also voiced her opinion publicly, saying "enough of introspection" and that it is "time for action now", blaming lack of strategy and unity at the state level.

"We are again decimated in Delhi. Enough of introspection, time for action now. Inordinate delay in decision making at the top, lack of strategy and unity at state level, demotivated workers, no grassroots connect - all are factors. Being part of the system, I too take my share of responsibility," Mukherjee said in a tweet on Tuesday, when the results of the Delhi assembly polls were announced.

Mukherjee, who is the daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, also hit out at former finance minister P Chidambaram after he, in a tweet, taunted the BJP over its defeat in Delhi, saying AAP won and the "bluff and bluster" lost.

In her response, she said: "With due respect sir, just want to know - has Congress outsourced the task of defeating BJP to state parties? If not, then why are we gloating over AAP victory rather than being concerned about our drubbing? And if 'yes', then we might as well close shop."

(With inputs from agencies)

