Sonia asks state party chiefs to resign after poll debacle

New Delhi: Heads have started to roll after the poll Debacle in five states as Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi has asked state party presidents to put in their papers. The party suffered massive defeats in five states which went to polls in February and March.

Randeep Surjewala, General Secretary of the party said, "Congress President, Sonia Gandhi has asked the PCC Presidents of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa & Manipur to put in their resignations in order to facilitate reorganisation of PCCs."

Those who have been asked to resign include Navjot Sidhu (Punjab), Ganesh Godiyal (Uttarakhand), Nameirakpam Loken Singh (Manipur), Ajay Kumar Lallu (UP) and Girish Chodankar (Goa).

The decision comes two days after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet, which authorised Sonia Gandhi to undertake "necessary and comprehensive" organisational changes.

"The CWC unanimously reaffirms its faith in the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and requests the Congress President to lead from the front, address the organisational weaknesses, effect necessary and comprehensive organisational changes in order to take on the political challenges," the CWC resolution had said.

The CWC statement said that the recent Assembly election results of five states are a cause of serious concern for the Indian National Congress. The party accepts that due to shortcomings in our strategy, we could not effectively expose the misrule of BJP state governments in four states and overcome the anti-incumbency in the state of Punjab in the short time after effecting a change of leadership.