AK Antony panel blames inflation, corruption for Congress debacle in Lok Sabha poll

NEW DELHI: Putting the blame for Congress's defeat on the Manmohan Singh government, an in-house inquiry is learnt to have found inflation as the reason for the party's worst-ever performance in Lok Sabha elections.

The AK Antony panel is also learnt to have listed indiscipline, corruption and media as the factors that contributed to the Congress collapse.

Price rise, which dogged the entire tenure of UPA-2, drove voters away from Congress, the panel is learnt to have said. Almost every leader from states that the probe panel interacted with is learnt to have told the Antony panel that persistently high food prices neutralized the effect that Congress campaign was supposed to have on its supporters and the middle class.

The picking on inflation, a direct indictment of the government, comes alongside the panel calling the defeat a collective failure and absolving key party campaigners of responsibility.

According to sources, there is also stress on how the perception of corruption against the UPA killed its chances with voters. The three-year-long NDA campaign over various scams, especially 2G, dented the credibility of the Congress regime beyond repair.

While inflation and corruption are known reasons for the rout that blew away the ruling party, sources said the Antony panel has also pointed out that indiscipline cost the Congress dearly.

The split between chief ministers and party presidents and general factionalism in state units prevented the party from pulling in one direction. Infighting was a feature of UPA government in the form of turf wars among central ministers that virtually jammed policy-making and presented UPA-2 as a divided house.

The Antony committee also listed media as a reason for the Congress debacle. The focus on one man, Narendra Modi, squeezed Congress out of the game of projection, feel Congressmen.

Before he started his probe, Antony said the party suffered because of the perception that it was biased in favour of religious minorities. The warning was seen as an indication that there was a gravitation of Hindu voters towards the BJP as a result of the impression of "minority appeasement" about Congress.

The Antony inquiry was to lay the ground for a shake-up in the Congress organization. However, party leaders believe the reshuffle may be put off till the string of assembly elections coming up around October.