Congress in 'striking distance' of BJP in terms of vote share: Jairam Ramesh on assembly poll results

Jairam Ramesh. File Pic

The Congress on Monday said its performance in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh was disappointing but it was within "striking distance" of the BJP going by the vote share, reported news agency PTI.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the good vote share of the party in these states is a reason for hope and revival.

"It is true that the performance of the Indian National Congress in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan was disappointing and far below our own expectations. But the vote shares tell a story of a Congress that is not very behind the BJP in fact, it is within striking distance. This is the reason for hope and revival," Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

Giving details, he said in Chhattisgarh while the BJP's vote share was 46.3 percent, that of the Congress was 42.2 percent.

In Madhya Pradesh, he said the BJP had a vote share of 48.6 percent while the Congress had 40.4 percent.

In Rajasthan, Ramesh said while the BJP had 41.7 percent vote share, the Congress had 39.5 percent.

He also posted the tagline of opposition bloc INDIA, which plans to take on the BJP unitedly in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on X - "Judega Bharat, Jeetega INDIA".

The BJP swept Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh on Sunday inflicting a resounding defeat on the Congress to tighten its stranglehold in the Hindi heartland.

The Congress ousted the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana to make it 3-1 for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the latest round of Assembly elections billed as a semi-final before next year's poll showdown.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that Winter Session of Parliament that begins on Monday is a "golden opportunity for Opposition parties to do something constructive" and asked them not to vent anger at their defeat in assembly polls inside the House.

Addressing reporters outside the Parliament before the Session commenced this morning, PM Modi urged for the cooperation of every member in the functioning of the House. He called for a productive start with constructive debates throughout the session.

"The country has rejected negativity. This is a golden opportunity for my friends in the opposition. We urge and pray for the cooperation of everyone. This time too, the process has been undertaken...Rather than venting out their anger of defeat (in assembly elections), they should take lessons from this defeat and shun the idea of negativity that has been there since last nine years and approach the session with positivity," PM Modi said.

(With inputs from PTI)