DEHRADUN: After the defeat in the Uttarakhand Assembly elections, Congress leader Dipika Pandey Singh on Sunday resigned as national secretary, co-in charge, of the party.
Singh, who is an MLA from Mahagama in Uttarakhand, expressed her gratitude to Congress' high command for giving the opportunity to serve the party.
"Taking responsibility for the defeats in Uttarakhand assembly elections, I have resigned as national secretary,co-incharge of Uttarakhand. I thank the leadership for giving me the opportunity to serve the party at the national level. @INCIndia @RahulGandhi @kcvenugopalmp @devendrayadvinc," Singh said in a tweet.
Congress, which was hoping to return to power in Uttarakhand, managed to win only 19 seats while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) retained power for the second consecutive term in the state with 47 seats.
Meanwhile, the Janata Dal (United) president Rajiv Ranjan "Lalan" Singh has asked Congress to come out with a 'proper roadmap' in the backdrop of the outcome of the Assembly elections in five states.
The interim president of Congress Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of the party's Parliamentary strategy group at 10 am at 10 Janpath on Sunday ahead of the second part of the Budget session of Parliament beginning from Monday.
Ahead of this meeting, Rajiv Ranjan Singh said to ANI on Thursday, "In the scheduled meeting, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and party leader Rahul Gandhi should discharge their duties properly, failing which they may not save the decline of Congress."
"Congress has to evaluate its basics and ground rules. They have to find out why is the country's oldest party shrinking. Congress is on the verge of extinction. Healthy Opposition is the need of the hour. They should come out with a proper roadmap for the party's future after this meeting," he said.
Congress's meeting holds significance in the backdrop of the poll verdict in five states, which came as a rude shock to Congress, which was hoping to do well to revive its prospects for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and also fend off the emerging challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) to replace the party as the fulcrum of anti-BJP politics in the country.
The meeting is likely to deliberate on the strategy of the party in two Houses of Parliament. Moreover, this meeting comes just a day ahead of the resumption of the second half of the Budget session of Parliament. The second half of the Budget session will conclude on April 8. The first half of the Budget session began on January 31 and concluded on February 11.
Earlier on Friday, Congress G23 met at senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's residence in the national capital. Congress leaders Bhupender Singh Hooda, Manish Tewari, Kapil Sibal and Anand Sharma, Akhilesh Prasad Singh attended the meeting.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won four out of five states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa, in recently concluded Assembly polls. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP and its allies won 255 seats out of 403 Assembly constituencies. In Uttarakhand, the party secured 47 out of 70 seats.
In Goa, the BJP won 20 seats, out of 40, and got the support of independent candidates. The BJP led coalition in Manipur bagged 31 seats out of 60 seats.