Indian Union Muslim League blames Rahul Gandhi for Congress' dismal performance

KOCHI: Jolted by the poor show of Congress and the landslide victory of Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party, the Indian Union Muslim League has openly criticised Rahul Gandhi for the dismal performance.

Rahul Gandhi’s one man show has not benefited Congress in any way in its campaign for the Lok Sabha election, says IUML. At the same time, the party has started sending out signals that its stand towards Modi is softening. IUML leader E Ahmed said on Wednesday that his party does not consider Modi as “untouchable.” E Ahmed said that the party will not blindly oppose Narendra Modi. The party will follow a policy of constructive criticism. Narendra Modi is not untouchable and the party will view him as the prime minister, he said. An editorial in Chandrika daily, the mouth piece of IUML, said that though Rahul Gandhi toured the entire country he was not able to understand the ‘spirit of India’.

The ‘war room’ to devise strategies for the election was shifted to Rahul Gandhi’s residence and experienced people like Jairam Ramesh was kept out of the campaign. The decision to make Rahul Gandhi, who has not even served as a state minister, the leader of the Lok Sabha poll campaign made things easier for Narendra Modi. Modi successfully overcame all allegations against him and used some of them to his advantage during the campaign. At the same time, Congress failed to convince the public that the fight was between two ideologies. Congress did not have a proper slogan to fight the election. Barring Kerala, Congress party did not even have good leaders to lead it, the editorial said.

Corruption, inflation and wrong policies were the other factors that contributed to the party’s fall, the Chandrika editorial said.