Scams, scandals, corruption cases and court strictures were the factors behind the Congress’ debacle in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election. This is the finding of the post-poll survey conducted by the state Congress.
Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. who met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi here on Saturday, briefed her about the reasons behind the party’s defeat in this key electoral battle. “The 2G, CWG, Adarsh Housing scam and court strictures against senior leaders had already influenced youths, especially those who cast their votes for the first time in this election,” the survey said.
This means Congress leaders involved and the role of the Centre in the spectrum allocation scam had severely affected the Congress’ electoral performance. “Anna Hazare’s campaign for Lokpal was in reality a campaign against corruption. This also marred the chances,” state Congress leaders viewed.
The continuance of Kripashankar Singh as the Mumbai Congress chief despite organisational elections sent a wrong message to Marathi voters in Mumbai. The Congress’ calculation that the MNS would damage the Shiv Sena also went wrong.