Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid wants his party to think big like the BJP, and refuse to accept тАЬpessimistic view” that the outfit has now become too small, weak and cannot regain its lost ground.
тАЬOne take-away that I have from (West) Bengal and Assam (Assembly elections) is: You should never, never accept
that you are too small, you are too weak and that you canтАЩt make it big in a particular region or State”, he told PTI in an interview on Monday.
тАЬI think, BJP has done that (think-big strategy) where they had no existence at all. They tried to do it in other
places where they still donтАЩt have any existence,” Khurshid said.
The Congress, the former Union Minister insisted, should not accept the тАЬpessimistic view” that it has lost too
much ground and it cannot now regain.
тАЬI think with determination and confidence, we can and thatтАЩs what we should do.”
Khurshid agreed with analysis in some quarters that there was tactical voting in the recent Assembly elections in
West Bengal, where the Congress and the Left were тАЬwiped out”.
тАЬThatтАЩs true. One analyst said the extent of tactical voting that happened in Bengal may not have happened in Assam
but obviously tactical voting happened in both the places,” he said.
тАЬтАжwhat do you do with it (tactical voting) as a party for the future, itтАЩs something that we will have to
consider”.
Khurshid was asked about his take on assessment by some of his party leaders who blamed a tie-up with Indian
Secular Front contributing to the rout in West Bengal and those who claimed that the partnership with AIUDF cost the party dearly in Assam.
тАЬWhenever you donтАЩt succeed, this is the kind of explanation that you are given; when you succeed, you are
given a different explanation,” he said.
тАЬSo, I donтАЩt think post-hoc explanations are sensible although they help you analyse your decision-making process
and merits of that decision. All I can say is: much can be said on both sides.”
Khurshid also said that the Congress manifesto for Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, due next year, would be a
manifesto тАЬfrom amongst” the people.
тАЬIdea is to be a little more analytical about what is it that people want and see if we can give it,” he said.
Khurshid added: тАЬOf course, we continue to face that problem of irrational division along castes and communities,
and that will get resolved over a period. That (the division) canтАЩt be something which can be wished away. It will get resolved over a period.”
In the Assembly elections, the results of which were declared on May two, the Congress was decimated in West
Bengal, where the Trinamool Congress won with a tally of 213 of 294 seats.
The Congress also failed to defeat incumbent governments in Kerala and Assam.
In Puducherry, the party was defeated by the NR Congress-led National Democratic Alliance.
However, in Tamil Nadu, the Congress was a constituent of the winning Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led alliance.
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