The Indian National Congress, the grand old party that once dominated the national and Delhi politics, is facing a brutal defeat and is on the verge of losing deposit in 63 out of 66 seats besides not winning a single seat in the Delhi Assembly election.
With Election Commission rules making it clear that the candidates securing less than a sixth of total polled votes will forfeit their deposits the party is likely to suffer the fate in all but three seats, i.e. Gandhi Nagar, Badli and Kasturba Nagar.
Earlier, the party had lost its deposits in 62 of the 70 seats in the Assembly elections held in 2015. Further, the party, that had under the leadership of late Sheila Dikshit governed the state for fifteen years till 2013, has failed to secure the second spot even in a single seat.
The Congress contested the polls this time in alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal, fighting in 66 seats and leaving four for its ally.
Various factors, including the rise of AAP in the capital and the lack of a strong leader after the demise of Sheila Dikshit, have been pointed as the reason behind the party’s decline. The AAP's capture of the anti-BJP vote has been complete in this election with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party taking a large chunk of the Congress vote share.
The Congress party on its part has accepted defeat and promised to rebuild and revive itself at the grassroots level in the national capital.
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