Chandigarh: The assessment within the Congress regarding its recent crushing defeat in Punjab has kicked off. On Tuesday, Congress candidates from the state's Malwa region were summoned to Chandigarh for their opinions to be heard in a review meeting. Congress' Punjab in-charge Harish Chaudhary, state unit president Navjot Singh Sidhu as well as former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi were present in the meeting.
Channi left after spending some time with the candidates. Chaudhary and Sidhu, meanwhile, met the MLAs in separate rooms in Punjab Congress Bhawan. Most of the leaders associated their defeat to the lack of coordination within top leadership.
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Several candidates pointed fingers at Sidhu holding him responsible for the electoral debacle. Defeated Congress candidate from Mohali, Balbir Singh Sidhu, said that Sidhu's "rhetoric" was the primary reason for Congress' loss.
Darshan Singh Brar, previously Congress MLA from Baghpurana, who lost the elections this time, said former state chief Sunil Jakhar's comment about him not being chosen as a CM candidate due to his Hindu identity did not sit well with voters in Malwa, as a huge chunk of them deserted Congress and the party subsequently suffered.
Former minister Kaka Ranvir Singh Nabha, meanwhile, said that it was a wrong move by the party to declare Charanjit Channi as the Chief Ministerial candidate, especially in the backdrop of Rs 10 crore being recovered by the ED from his brother's house.
