'Review poll strategy': INDIA bloc to Congress after defeat in Haryana

New Delhi: After its shock defeat in Haryana, the Congress on Tuesday got some friendly advice from its INDIA bloc partners to re-think its poll strategy ahead of the next round of assembly elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi.

Leaders of the AAP, which was keen on having an alliance with the Congress in Haryana, said the biggest lesson from the recent round of elections was one should not be "overconfident" and questioned the grand old party’s strategy for the assembly polls.

Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-UBT and CPI also questioned the Congress' strategy for the assembly elections.

Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the single biggest lesson of the just-concluded round of assembly elections was that one should not be "overconfident".

Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia said the people of Haryana wanted to defeat the BJP in the assembly elections and the Congress failed to win due to shortcoming in their election strategy.

Shiv Sena-UBT leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said the results of the Haryana elections will not have any impact in Maharashtra, where elections are likely to be held next month.

However, she wanted the Congress to re-think its election strategy after the grand old party fell short of expectations in a direct fight against the BJP in Haryana.

CPI general secretary D Raja wanted the Congress to do serious introspection over the poll results in Haryana and take along all INDIA bloc partners in the upcoming polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

In Haryana, Raja suggested that the Congress' decision not to go for seat sharing worked against it.

"Congress party will have to do serious introspection. It has to do some self-critical assessment of its own strategy and tactics," he said.

Raja said the INDIA bloc parties should work with mutual trust in each other, and mutual accommodation in time of seat sharing, and that such an approach was not adopted in Haryana.

Congress is in talks with Shiv Sena-UBT and Sharad Pawar-led NCP-SP for seat-sharing in Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh reminded its Maharashtra allies that it was the number one party in the Lok Sabha polls in the state.

"In Maharashtra, I want to remind that in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress was in the first place and 'coalition dharma' is that we discuss issues between ourselves and not through the media," Ramesh said.

"We are in alliance in Maharashtra, it is our responsibility to strengthen the alliance. We will not say anything about our allies," he said.

In Jharkhand too, the Congress is in alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.

In Delhi, the Kejriwal-led AAP ousted the Congress from power in 2013 and the grand old party has failed to open its account in the assembly in the elections held in 2015 and 2020.