The Congress has constituted a fact-finding committee to investigate the reason behind its worst-ever performance in the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir held for the first time in a decade.
Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) President Tariq Hameed Karra has appointed senior party leader Ravinder Sharma as chairman of the committee to probe the reasons for the defeat and recommend ways to strengthen the party. Jehangir Mir, Naresh Gupta, Thakur Balwan Singh, Shah Mohd Chowdhary, Ved Mahajan, and Dina Nath Baghat are members of the committee.
The move comes after Rahul Gandhi expressed serious concern over the failure of the party to deliver against the Bharatiya Janata Party, especially in the Hindu majority districts of Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua and Samba. The BJP won all the seats in these districts, while Congress failed to make an impression and even some party heavyweights like Tara Chand, Raman Bhalla and Chaudhary Lal Singh lost by big margins.
Sharma told THE WEEK that the committee will identify why the Congress didn’t perform. “It will try to assess how the people’s mood changed,’’ he said. He said the BJP exploited certain things, but they will probe the Congress’ shortcomings in mandate to the candidates. “All these things will be probed for future course of action,’’ he said.
On why the Congress has not joined the cabinet, he said their main aim was to prevent the BJP from coming to power with the support of some parties. “Our target was the NC-Congress coalition should win and give a message to the people,’’ he said. “The issue of joining the government will be dealt with later by the party.” He said though they have stayed away from joining the government, they are a part of the coalition.
On Congress challenging the lieutenant governor’s authority to nominate five MLAs to the assembly in court, he said the case is listed for hearing on Monday in J&K and Ladakh High Court. “Abishek Singhvi will be pleading the case on behalf of Congress,’’ he said. “The case is for the good of the general public and democracy," he added.
The NC-Congress alliance contested 83 of the 90 seats, with NC fielding candidates in 51 and Congress in 32, along with friendly contests on five seats. NC emerged victorious with 42 seats (35 in Kashmir and seven in Jammu), while Congress managed only six, five of which came from Kashmir and a single win in Jammu.
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Analysts attribute Congress’s poor performance in Jammu to strategic missteps, internal discord, and its failure to resonate with voters on key issues. The party’s mismanagement of candidate selection was evident when it sidelined Satish Sharma in the Chhamb Assembly segment.
This decision contributed to the loss of veteran leader Chand, with Satish running as an independent and winning decisively, later joining Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s Cabinet. The defeat of Congress leader Bhalla who lost to the BJP for the second time, further underscored the party's struggles.
