Gujarat Congress in charge Raghu Sharma resigns after poll debacle

"Taking moral responsibility for the unexpected defeat, Sharma has resigned as in-charge of the state Congress," sources in the Gujarat party unit said after the poor show of the Congress in the state.

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Congress in-charge Raghu Sharma on Thursday resigned from his post taking moral responsibility for his party's apparently worst performance so far in the western state. Sharma's 'silent campaign' against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clearly did not work as highlighted by the Assembly election results. The high decibel campaign of the new poll entrant Aam Aadmi Party in the state made the fight even worse.

"Taking moral responsibility for the unexpected defeat, Sharma has resigned as in-charge of the state Congress," sources in the Gujarat party unit said. Sources suggest that the State Congress president Jagdish Thakor is also likely to follow Sharma's footsteps. Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi also expressed dissatisfaction over the party's poor performance in the state which had given a tough fight to the BJP in the last assembly elections. "We will take stock of the situation," Thakor said.

The BJP which won big time in the state on Thursday won bagged 150 seats with the Congress party finishing at a distant second, winning only 15 seats so far. The Aam Aadmi Party, despite its high-decibel campaign, could manage only five seats, however emerging as a force to reckon with in the national electoral landscape.