BENGALURU: While the Congress could not withstand Modi wave across the nation, lack of coordination between the coalition partners made matters worse for the party in Karnataka.
That was the biggest factor for the loss in Lok Sabha polls, says former Chief Minister M Veerappa Moily, who lost the LS polls from Chikkaballapura.
The New Indian Express speaks to him to find out the reasons behind the drubbing. Excerpts:
What went wrong for the Congress party?
As far as the national perspective is concerned, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) is yet to make a study. However, Congress leaders and workers should not panic. Just because we have lost elections, it won’t mean it is the end of the Congress party. In 1984, the BJP had only two seats. But we never said it was the end of BJP. Only BJP leaders make such statements.
How did BJP manage to get such a massive mandate?
That has to be analysed. Congress has to take the initiative. There was no national debate on achievements or programme. It was all about Pulwama and Balakot. I don’t want to comment much on that, but some day the debate will surface on whether it was genuine or inflated for the sake of elections.
What does Congress need to do to win elections?
Just because BJP has won the elections, the Congressmen should not think that we should also become a cadre-based party. It will be a disaster for democracy. The idea of Congress should be strengthened.
Congress should not imitate the BJP or the RSS. Congress should come out with a vision for the country.
BJP is trying to destroy the very idea of India.
What about Rahul Gandhi’s offer to resign?
After 2014, everyone thought Congress would become irrelevant, but because of his aggressive approach, the party came alive. He must continue to lead the party.
BJP won 25 out of 28 seats, which was more than what they had expected...
If they have won more seats than what they expected, they don’t deserve it. It is accidental.
Did alliance in state boomerang?
That was one of the biggest reasons and I will not talk about who worked against whom. In Kerala, there is a coalition of UDF parties. They have a proper coordination at different levels in the state. What kind of coordination do we have here? There was no mechanism to ensure that the coalition works. Merely keeping the BJP away from power should not be the approach.