Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday urged party workers not to be disheartened by the assembly poll results in Uttar Pradesh and work with "double energy" until they score a victory. Speaking at the Congress' two-day 'Nav Sankalp Karyashala' here, Vadra said she will work with party workers with double strength and they have to move ahead in line with the spirit of the 'Nav Sankalp' declaration adopted at a party conclave in Udaipur in May.
The Congress was decimated in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, with the party winning only two of the 403 seats. This was the party's lowest-ever tally in the state. It had won seven seats in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. The 'Nav Sankalp Karyashala', which began on Wednesday, is the first big Congress event in Uttar Pradesh since its poll drubbing.
"Despite fighting with all its force, the party was defeated. But there is no time to be disheartened... (we must) continue fighting with double energy until we win," the Congress general secretary told party workers and leaders who came from across the state. Vadra said she will work with party workers with double strength. "We have to move ahead in line with the spirit of the declaration passed at Udaipur's 'Chintan Shivir'," she said. She also emphasised the need to connect with the masses on not just political issues but also social issues.
Asserting that the organisation and grassroots workers of the Congress are the real strength of the party, the 'Nav Sankalp' declaration passed at the Udaipur conclave said that in the next 90 to 180 days, accountability should be ensured by filling up all vacancies at block, district, state and national levels. Targeting the BJP, Vadra said the direction in which the ruling party is taking the country is not the one for which Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and B R Ambedkar fought. "We have to reach out to the people and tell them the truth," she said.
Till 2014, the country's economy was progressing but today the entire world is seeing the "bad condition" of the country. The future is being ruined by dividing the youth in the name of caste and religion, she said. The two-day workshop is being held at the state Congress headquarters. Issues related to the Congress' digital membership campaign, upcoming municipal elections, party organisation, politics, economy, agriculture, social justice and youths were discussed on the first day of the workshop, a party statement said.