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Delhi Results 2020: Trends suggest Congress scores a duck; Gandhi era to be ruled out in Delhi?

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New Delhi, Feb 11: Congress, on Tuesday stared at the dubious distinction after the latest trends revealed that the grand old party scored a duck which once ruled Delhi for 15 years.

It is alleged that fears of the Congress not having a credible face, after the death of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit last July has put Congress on a halt. The Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) dream came true with Arvind Kejriwal's party capturing the space once occupied by the grand old party.

Delhi Results 2020: Trends suggest Congress scored a duck; Gandhi era to be ruled out in Delhi?

In what ended up being a bipolar contest between the AAP and the BJP, the Congress was trailing at a distant third on almost all the 70 seats with many candidates facing the ignominy of losing their deposits.

Delhi Result 2020: On Promise Day, Congress promises to rebuild, revive; Accepts Delhi mandateDelhi Result 2020: On Promise Day, Congress promises to rebuild, revive; Accepts Delhi mandate

The Congress' nostalgia-steeped campaign, centred around the development done by Dikshit in her 15-year tenure as chief minister, failed to woo voters with several asking questions of the party on leadership and its future strategy for Delhi.

As the results came in, criticism of the Congress' Delhi unit started gaining traction and many leaders called for "action" rather than introspection.

Taking to Twitter, Delhi Mahila Congress chief and party spokesperson Sharmishtha Mukherjee said, "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 state level, demotivated workers, no grassroots connect-all are factors. Being part of the system, I too take my share of responsibility."

Her colleague Jaiveer Shergill suggested the Congress should avoid things like justifying defeat, finding happiness in the BJP's defeat and telling itself that wins and losses are cyclic in elections.

Congress MP Pratap Singh Bajwa said those against the BJP's divisive politics had the option of either the AAP or the Congress, and they chose the former.

"One thing is for sure all parties that are winning state elections, it is because of a leader. If people have faith in the leader, that party wins. The BJP never had a face in Delhi. The Congress has to bring in an educated, young face (in Delhi) for the future and keep working hard," he said.

In 2015 Delhi Assembly elections, the Congress had a vote share of 9.7 per cent against the BJP's 32.7 per cent and the AAP's 54.34 per cent. The Congress contested the polls this time in alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal, fighting on 66 seats and leaving four for its ally.

Delhi: Close contests result of straight fights, Congress has become irrelevant: Dr. ShastriDelhi: Close contests result of straight fights, Congress has become irrelevant: Dr. Shastri

The Congress had been in power in Delhi for three straight terms between 1998-2013 with Dikshit as the chief minister. The AAP's rise has been a major factor in the Congress' decline, from being a dominant force in the national capital to being a marginal player. The AAP's capture of the anti-BJP vote has been completed in this election with the Kejriwal-led party taking a large chunk of the Congress vote share.

The Congress has accepted defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls and vowed to rebuild and revive itself at the grassroots level in the national capital.

(With inputs from PTI)

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