Rout after rout: state Congress chief bows out

Gujarat Congress president Siddharth Patel on Saturday tendered his resignation after his party was routed in second round of local polls for panchayat bodies and municipalites. Though Congress had fared very poorly in the recent civic polls,its latest performance is said to be its worst in decades. Owning “moral responsibility” for the defeat of his party in the zilla panchayat and municipal committee polls,Patel faxed his resignation letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi in the evening. “Accepting moral responsibility for the results in the panchayat and local bodies elections,I resign from the post of state party president,” he told reporters.

Patel said the results of zilla panchayats,taluka panchayats and local bodies elections were not as expected. “The entire political atmosphere was in favour of the Congress and party workers also worked very hard. But the results that have come are completely unbelievable,” he said.

“As party president,I accept full responsibility for the adverse results for the party in the polls and I have also sent my resignation to party chief Sonia Gandhi,” he added. Patel thanked Gandhi for reposing faith in him during the period he worked as party chief in the state. “I will continue to work as a soldier of the party,” he said.

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This is one of the worst performances of Congress in Gujarat in recent decades. Even post-2002 riots,when there was a sharp polarisation,the party had fared better. The losses in panchayat polls are considered significant as Congress has had a better presence in rural areas that helped it save face in Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.

It lost its strongholds in Central and South Gujarat,retaining only two seats,one in Gandhinagar and other in Tapi. The BJP also managed to breach strongholds of all three Union ministers from the state,Bharatsinh Solanki,Dr Tushar Chaudhary and Dinsha Patel.