When the results of the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections were being announced, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi was meeting the victims of cyclone Hudhud in Visakhapatnam.

He told them that he has gone there to see with his own eyes the damage that has happened in coastal Andhra Pradesh.

At the AICC headquarters here, a small group of Congress workers staged a march demanding that Priyanka Gandhi be brought to the leadership of the Congress. Many in the Congress believe that the lowest ebb in the history of Congress’ electoral performances is due to the apathy of the top leadership towards the routine issues of running a big organisation.

A top Congress leader said the high command’s ‘attitude’ systematically silenced the State-level leaders. He said the party failed to address issues such as corruption and nepotism at various levels in a time-bound manner.

“They took a lot of time to address the issues at the ground. We should have a proper mechanism to address the issues of State leadership. Otherwise, the Congress will never recover from this state,” he said. The prescription most of the State-level leaders are giving is the removal of ‘inefficient’ general secretaries at the AICC headquarters. “They have lost touch with the ground. They are there just because of the blessing of the top leadership,” another leader added.

The Congress has already started the process of organisational elections. It is likely to get expedited as the elections are now over.

Rahul Gandhi said people have voted for change after 15 years of the UPA Government in Maharashtra and 10 years in Haryana.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi said her party accepts the election verdict with humility and resolved to play a constructive and vigilant role.

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