Congress leader Harish Rawat who led the assembly polls campaign in Uttarakhand admitted defeat on Thursday, saying his party's campaign strategy for the state was insufficient.
"Our efforts were a little less to win over the public of Uttarakhand. We were sure that people will vote for a change, there must have been a shortage in our efforts," he was quoted as saying.
The former Uttarakhand chief minister, who lost his Lalkuwa seat, said he accepts this and takes responsibility for the defeat as the chairman of complaint committee.
"People worked very well and I would like to thank them. I couldn't win people's trust but I would like to congratulate my daughter and all the candidates who won."
The Congress leader said he was very much surprised by the results. "I cannot understand that after such massive inflation, if this was the public's mandate, what is the definition of public welfare and social justice?...I can't understand people saying 'BJP zindabaad' after this."
The ruling BJP looked all set to secure a second consecutive term in the office in Uttarakhand leading in 47 out of the total 70 seats, according to latest trends. This is the first time in the 21-year history of the state a party winning two successive assembly elections.
