NEW DELHI: The Congress’ three-member inquiry committee analysing what transpired in the Karnataka Lok Sabha elections will visit the state for three days from July 11 to meet leaders and take their views on the less than favourable poll results.
Sources said three senior leaders — Madhusudan Mistri, Gaurav Gogoi and Hibi Eden — have already discussed the protocols to be followed during their interaction in Karnataka and have decided to visit the state from July 11.
The committee, one of six selected to assess the election results in eight states, was appointed by Indian National Congress Party leader Mallikarjun Kharge after he found that the party’s performance in Karnataka and seven other states where its voters have “traditional support” was not up to par.
In Karnataka, despite returning to power with a landslide victory of 136 seats in May last year, the Congress party managed to win just nine of the 28 seats.
According to sources, the Karnataka commission will look into whether the 16 candidates, who hail from political families, influenced the election results and how the guarantee system worked in the elections. The commission will hold discussions with state leaders.
The Congress Working Committee resolution of June 8 said it would be “dereliction of duty if we do not take note of the disappointing performance” in some states and that “urgent steps” should and would be taken to “address shortcomings” in states where the party “had every reason to expect better results but those expectations were not met”.
“While celebrating our comeback, we should take a moment to pause because in some states we have not lived up to our capabilities and expectations. Moreover, we have not been able to replicate our performance in states where we had previously performed well in state assembly elections and formed the government,” Kharge told the CWC.
Published July 1, 2024 15:25 IST
