india

Updated: May 28, 2019 05:51 IST

Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshit on Monday constituted a committee to probe the reasons for the party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha elections and suggest corrective measures to ensure success in the Delhi assembly elections due next year.

The five-member committee includes former Rajya Sabha MP Parvez Hashmi, former Delhi ministers Ashok Walia and Yoganand Shastri, AICC national spokesperson Pawan Khera and ex-MLA Jaikishan.

The committee will submit its report to the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president within 10 days.

Dikshit, three-term chief minister of Delhi, will look into all aspects including any internal complaints, said senior party leaders.

Dikshit had offered to resign from her post days after the Congress failed to bag any of the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital. The party, however, increased its vote share to 22.5%, pushing rival AAP to the third spot on five seats.

Dikshit said, “The committee has been formed to inquire into why we could not win any seat. The members will meet tomorrow to discuss the factors and suggest corrective steps. We will certainly do better in the assembly elections.”

The party had restructured its state unit this January after former DPCC chief Ajay Maken resigned from the post citing health reasons.

While Dikshit was made DPCC chief, central leadership had appointed three working presidents — Rajesh Lilothia, Haroon Yusuf and Devender Yadav – to assist her in preparations for the Lok Sabha elections.

According to senior party functionaries, none of the three working presidents were made part of the committee while some of the members include those, who were earlier considered for an election ticket.

Dodging the question whether PC Chacko, Congress’s Delhi in-charge was consulted for the formation of the review committee, the functionary said, “Mrs Dikshit is the state unit president, she can assess if something has gone wrong.”

Ashok Walia, a committee member, said, “We are going to meet at around 11 at the DPCC office on Tuesday to discuss what went wrong for the party candidates. The results were quite unpredictable. So far we could assess that it was largely the Modi-wave that helped win BJP candidates.”

The party, which has witnessed a string of poll debacles since 2013, is aiming to win back its strongholds such as slum clusters and unauthourised colonies.

Senior party leaders said the increase in vote share in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections has come as a boost to the party and a strategy needs to be put in place to counter the “false promises” of the AAP government in Delhi.