Outcome of Delhi Assembly polls surprising: Cong

Party general secretary Shakeel Ahmed said that in Delhi the agitations on various issues helped the Aam Aadmi Party and BJP.

New Delhi: Shocked at being relegated to the third position in the Delhi Assembly polls, Congress today said the outcome was "most surprising" while the mandate appears against the party in other states barring Chhattisgarh. Party general secretary Shakeel Ahmed told PTI that in Delhi the agitations on various issues helped the Aam Aadmi Party and BJP. Delhi had witnessed agitations on issues like Lokpal Bill and the December 16 gangrape case where people turned out in large numbers against the establishment. Replying to a question, Ahmed, who is in charge of party affairs in Delhi, said it was time for introspection for the party, especially in Delhi. "We were not expecting these results. The reasons for this will be analysed," he said. Congress has been in power in Delhi for 15 years now with Shiela Dikshit having the distinction of the longest-serving woman Chief Minister in independent India. In the last Assembly polls, the Congress had won as many as 43 seats in the 70-member legislative Assembly and its fortunes have dwindled sharply this time with the party likely to get less than 10 seats.