After the humiliating defeat of ruling Congress in Hisar Lok Sabha bye-election, state chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said the party would introspect on the reasons behind the defeat.
"I accept and respect the verdict of the people of Hisar Parliamentary constituency with all humility. No doubt, the Congress Party has not performed well as expected. Winning and losing in election is a process of democracy," said Hooda here breaking his silence after the party's defeat.
He said state party president Phool Chand Mullana has a meeting at Chandigarh on October 21 to ascertain the reasons of the defeat in Hisar.
"Being the head of the Congress party government in the state, I do not absolve myself of the responsibility for the defeat of the party and we shall do introspection and look into all the reasons for the poor performance of our party. A meeting of the party has been convened by HPCC president for the purpose," said Hooda.
He said, "We shall continue to fight the casteist, corrupt and criminal forces in the state and work for peace, social harmony and development."
Congress had fared poorly in Hisar bypoll and its candidate Jai Parkash finished a poor third and even lost his security deposit. The votes polled by him were even less than he got in the 2009 elections.
Hooda, however, did not react to the demand of opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief Om Parkash Chautala, who sought his resignation after the party's defeat in Hisar.
"Hooda camped at Hisar for the entire campaigning period with a number of his ministerial colleagues. Despite this the Congress could not save the security deposit of its nominee. There can be no worst defeat for the Congress that too in a by poll. Soon the Congress will be wiped out of power in the state due to its all round misrule," Chautala claimed.
Meanwhile, Haryana Minister for Industries Randeep Singh Surjewala said the Congress candidate's defeat will have no impact on the forthcoming Punjab Assembly polls.
"We have lost Hisar bye-election due to local factors. We accept and respect the verdict of the people of Hisar Parliamentary constituency. Winning and losing in election is a process of democracy," Surjewala said in Patiala
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