Rahul Gandhi Not Responsible For Debacle, Says Maharashtra Congress Chief Ashok Chavan as he Offers to Resign

In the recently-conducted Lok Sabha Elections 2019, Chavan lost to BJP's Prataprao Govindrao Chikhalikar by a margin of 40,000 votes from Nanded seat.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Congress Chief Ashok Chavan offered to resign on Saturday from his post following party’s debacle in the recently concluded Lok Sabha Elections 2019.

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“I have submitted my resignation and now it’s up to Congress President Rahul Gandhi to take call on whatever reshuffle and changes he wants to make. We fully authorise him to take call on this. I will be meeting Rahul Gandhi soon,” he said while speaking to news agency ANI.

In the recently-conducted polls, Chavan lost to BJP’s Prataprao Govindrao Chikhalikar by a margin of 40,000 votes from Nanded seat.

Responding to a question on who should be held responsible for Congress’ dismal performance in the general elections, Chavan said, “Rahul Gandhi is not to be blamed for what happened in the Lok Sabha polls. He is the leader of our party and I do not endorse that he is responsible for this debacle in polls. It is the collective responsibility of all people like us, who are heading the party in various states.”

In Maharashtra, BJP-Shiv Sena coalition swept the polls in Maharashtra, managing to win 41 seats together. NCP managed to retain its tally from 2014 by winning five seats while one seat went to AIMIM. While, the Congress managed to win just one out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats with candidates like former Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Mumbai unit chief Milind Deora losing in their respective seats.

Following Congress’s humiliating performance in the general elections, Congress party unit chiefs in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Odisha too have offered to resign from their post. On Saturday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Saturday offered his resignation from the post of state Congress Committee President. He also  skipped the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held on Saturday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept 28 out of 29 Lok Sabha seats in the recently-concluded general elections 2019 and there has been speculation about the longevity of the Congress-led government in the state which is in power due to the support of BSP, SP and Independent MLAs.