NEW DELHI: With the Congress set to draw a blank in Delhi, party leader Sharmistha Mukherjee on Tuesday said 'inordinate delay in decision making at the top' is among the reasons for the dismal performance.
"We are again decimated in Delhi. Enough of introspection, time for action now. Inordinate delay in decision making at the top, lack of strategy and unity at the state level, demotivated workers, no grassroots connect - all are factors. Being part of the system, I too take my share of responsibility," she tweeted.
The election was a fight between "a giant and a pygmy" and the AAP is winning it despite the NDA government using all its might to wrest power in the national capital, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said earlier on Tuesday.
"The common people have decided they will choose either BJP or AAP. It's a vote for the development agenda. The entire government, along with all its entire machinery, had been deployed in Delhi to win this election. From PM to grassroots workers, it's been a fight between a giant and a pygmy and the pygmy has won," he said.
Taking responsibility for Congress' dismal performance, party's Delhi unit chief Subhash Chopra on Monday blamed Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party for carrying out politics of polarization which resulted in a dip in the Congress' vote percentage.
Chopra's statement came after the Indian National Congress (INC) could not open its account for the Delhi Assembly polls, even after two hours of counting of votes.
"I take responsibility for the party's performance, we will analyse the factors behind this. Reason for the drop in our vote percentage is politics of polarization by both BJP and AAP," Chopra told ANI.
"It's been three months since I took over as the party chief and I did the best of my capability. If anybody is to be blamed, it's Subhash Chopra," he added.
Chopra added that Congress has always stood against the communal forces and we'll always remain against BJP till the end.
"People's mandate is against us, we accept it. We have resolved to revive and rebuild the party," Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said at a press conference.
AICC Delhi in-charge P C Chacko said the message of Delhi polls is that the "most toxic campaign" unleashed by Modi and Shah has been defeated by the people of the national capital.
As per official EC trends, AAP is maintaining a strong lead on 58 seats while BJP is far behind at 12. Congress, on the other hand, is yet to open its account.
Congress, which ruled Delhi consecutively for 15 years from 1998 to 2013, could not manage to win a single seat in the last elections of 2015.
The counting of votes for 70 seats of the Delhi Assembly began at 8 am today amid tight security.
Delhi went to polls in a single-phase on February 8. AAP, BJP, Congress are the main political parties in the fray.