I will take responsibility for any poll debacle in UP: Joshi

Lucknow, Mar 6: Trying to insulate Rahul Gandhi from being targetted for any poll debacle in Uttar Pradesh, state party chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi on Tuesday said she will take responsibility for such eventuality if the party fails to convert Gandhi's presence into votes.

As the counting for 403 seats in UP began, Joshi said Gandhi was party's star campaigner and with the kind of atmosphere he created, the party could reach out to about one crore people. "If we cannot convert that atmosphere into votes, the responsibility will be of the party organisational set up and mine since I am the chief. I will take responsibility," she said.

Exit polls had shown that Congress was facing an uphill task in reviving its fortunes in the Mayawati-ruled Uttar Pradesh where its campaign was led from the front by Rahul Gandhi. Congress is contesting 357 seats in the state out of 403 seats where it won 22 seats in the 2007 state polls.

PTI