The Congress will be able to stage a comeback in Kerala at the earliest, according to Oommen Chandy, who tendered the resignation of his government to Governor P Sathasivam a short while ago.
The electoral reverse is at best a temporary setback, he told waiting newspersons as he emerged from Raj Bhavan here.
The party has weathered such crises in the past and expressed the hope that it would prevail this time too.
Asked to confirm if he would not accept the position of Leader of Opposition in the new assembly, he said a decision would be taken at a meeting of legislators and senior leaders to be held here on May 23.
As chairman of the United Democratic Front, he maintained that he was willing to take a large share of the blame for the ‘shocking defeat’ of the party and the front.
He would meet with the Chief Secretary and his own staff before formally demitting office. In the afternoon, he would meet with employees of the government Secretariat in a farewell session.