Gaurav asks members to prepare for LS polls as Cong reviews reasons for Assembly polls defeat

Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi on Saturday urged party workers to begin preparing for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections from now itself. He emphasised on the Congress standing with the people in highlighting their problems. Addressing party workers after reviewing the reasons for the opposition party's failure in the state Assembly polls, Gogoi called upon workers to begin preparations from today itself for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. The responsibility of standing beside the people of Assam, highlighting their problems and pointing out the wrong policies of the government has now increased significantly, he said. Gogoi said that after minutely reviewing organisational matters, the party leadership will soon undertake public outreach programmes and, from next Monday onwards, hold extensive discussions with the party's frontal and affiliated organisations. Gogoi entrusted the party's general secretary with the responsibility of taking immediate steps in this regard. Talking to reporters before the meeting, Gogoi said, ''The Congress party has taken the election results very seriously. As president of the Pradesh Congress, I accept the moral responsibility for the overall election results. I have appealed to the central leadership of the party that whatever suggestions they provide in the coming days regarding our organisational foundation or strategies, we will accept those suggestions.'' Casting apprehension on the EVMs, he said, ''We wanted to know what kind of battery or technology exists inside the EVMs that the charge never decreases. Even after such a long time, the battery percentage does not go down.'' ''There are many doubts regarding the voter list. We have repeatedly raised our voice on these issues,'' he added. The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), in the special review meeting, the reasons behind the party's poor performance were discussed in depth, a statement said. Discussions were also held on the circumstances under which Congress candidates were defeated despite securing higher votes in a majority of constituencies in 2026 compared to 2021, it added. ''Issues such as the Election Commission allegedly helping the ruling side instead of maintaining neutrality, politicisation of beneficiary schemes, discrepancies in EVMs, and organisational weaknesses of the party were given importance during the discussions,'' the statement said. AICC general secretary Jitendra Singh, who had resigned as party in-charge for the state after the poll results, expressed gratitude to all the candidates ''who contested the elections for entering the battle to safeguard democracy despite facing severe challenges''. The Congress managed to win 19 seats in the 126-member Assembly, though it remained the single largest opposition party.

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