"Congress continues to retain confidence, faith of people in Chhattisgarh": State party in-charge Kumari Selja

A review meeting about the Chhattisgarh election results was held here in the national capital today which was presided over by the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. It was attended among others, by former president Rahul Gandhi, general secretary organization KC Venugopal, general secretary in charge of the state Kumari Selja and senior leaders from Chhattisgarh.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Congress leader and Chhattisgarh party in-charge Kumari Selja said, "While the final results were unexpected, belying all the surveys, opinion polls and expectations, the party does continue to retain the confidence and faith of people in the state."

She pointed out that the vote share of the party was the same as it was five years ago.

She said, "This is no mean achievement to retain the vote share for five years. It means that the people had liked the policies of the Congress governments".

Kumari Selja expressed confidence that the party will perform better in the parliamentary elections as people still have faith and trust in the Congress party as was evident in the voting pattern.

She also pointed out that the election was not a one-sided affair as in several constituencies the party candidates lost by slim margins.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary, KC Venugopal, maintained that while the results were disappointing, the morale of the party's rank and file was high. He said party leaders and workers will continue to reach out to the people in connection with the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections scheduled next year.

As it surged to victory in the tribal heartland of Chhattisgarh, the BJP claimed a significant vote share of 46.27 per cent to 42.23 per cent of the incumbent Congress.

A total of 1,181 candidates across parties pitted themselves against each other for the 90-member Chhattisgarh assembly.

The polling in the state was held in two phases, with the first on November 7 featuring 223 candidates and the second seeing 958 candidates put their electoral fates to the test on November 17.

Of the 90 assembly constituencies in Chhattisgarh, the BJP bagged 54 while the Congress won 35. (ANI)