The Hindu : National : Don’t link verdict with Gujarat: Congress

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Saturday, Dec 29, 2007
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Don’t link verdict with Gujarat: Congress

Gargi Parsai

NEW DELHI: After its defeat in the Himachal Pradesh elections on Friday – within a week of the Gujarat debacle, the Congress it would be a mistake to link the results of both States.

Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma, who hails from Himachal Pradesh, said: “We respect the verdict in Himachal Pradesh with humility. But it is a mistake to link it with Gujarat. In Gujarat, there was communal polarisation. There was no such thing here.”

Mr. Sharma admitted that the party expected a tough contest. “We lifted the campaign by the visits of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Only towards the end, Ms. Gandhi’s visit had to be cancelled because of bad weather.”

He said there was a direct contest between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party in the State for the last two decades. Though the BJP was campaigning for “change and development,” the Congress’ track record and performance were “better.”

“We delivered on our promises. There was an investment of Rs. 30,000 crore. There was employment generation to the tune of three lakh jobs in the government and the private sector. Then there was the Prime Minister’s Special Package. Yet the party lost?”

“Yes, we will analyse the results,” Mr. Sharma said.

Mr. Sharma asserted that it would be wrong to say that the Congress had been wiped out in the State. “We are a strong party and have a strong presence. We are determined to work for correction and strengthen the party.” The party’s general secretary in charge of Himachal Pradesh, R.K. Dhawan, said the results were “unexpected.”

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