Delhi Congress interim chief: ‘Alliance with AAP was not strong enough … needs a revamp’

Following the Lok Sabha election results in which the AAP-Congress alliance drew a blank in the Capital, Delhi Congress’s interim chief Devender Yadav speaks to Saman Husain on what went wrong, if Arvinder Singh Lovely’s exit had an effect on the poll outcome, and preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections.

The Congress and the alliance, as a whole, have done remarkably well in other states. What was the issue in Delhi?

To understand this, we will talk to the leaders on ground. We need to understand what went wrong… we are holding a meeting with a few grassroots leaders tomorrow after which we will decide the way forward.

Did Kanhaiya Kumar being from outside Delhi have an effect on the results?

I do not think so because even Manoj Tiwari is an outsider. Kanhaiya performed his duties well but there was very little time and huge areas to cover. There were other problems such as the other side making attempts to sway our workers, poach our leaders, and discourage voters by creating long queues on polling day. But, I can also admit that our alliance was not strong enough. The alliance needs to revamp, there is a lot that needs to be done to strengthen this alliance.

What was the issue with funds?

There is no doubt that we are short of funds but there were many people who came forward to help the candidates as well as the party.

How did Lovely’s exit impact the party?

It did not impact our cadre because he had turned into a habitual defector. He could not make much of a difference other than taking a few other habitual defectors along with him. But yes, if a Pradesh Congress Committee President leaves in the middle of an election, the impact it has on our perception is unavoidable.

Looking back, what should have been done