New Delhi, Oct 14 (PTI) – Deepak Babaria, the Congress in-charge for Haryana, has announced his decision to resign from his position, taking moral responsibility for the party’s defeat in the recent assembly elections.

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Resignation Offer Made

Babaria explained that he submitted his resignation to the party’s high command immediately after the election results were announced last week, though he has not yet received a response regarding his offer.

“After the results came out last week, I informed the high command that they could replace me if they deemed it necessary. Given my health issues and the responsibility I feel for the outcomes, I felt it was appropriate to offer my resignation,” Babaria told PTI.

He recalled having made a similar offer to resign as in-charge of Delhi after the Lok Sabha elections, but no decision was made at that time either. “It was my duty to make this offer,” he added.

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Review Meeting Convened

In the wake of the disappointing results in Haryana, Congress leadership convened a review meeting last Thursday to discuss the party’s performance. They established a fact-finding team to analyze the reasons behind the defeat, which will reach out to all candidates for insights.

During the meeting, the party discussed possible explanations for the unexpected results and plans to address complaints regarding discrepancies in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), as raised by some candidates.

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Leadership Involvement

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, and several other senior party leaders participated in the review meeting, which Babaria attended online.

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Demand for Investigation

The Congress has demanded a thorough investigation into the alleged discrepancies found in certain EVMs during the vote counting process. They are requesting that these machines be sealed and secured until an inquiry is conducted.

A delegation of top Congress leaders, including former Chief Ministers Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Ashok Gehlot, met with Election Commission officials to address the concerns. They highlighted at least 20 complaints regarding EVMs, noting that some machines operated at 99% battery capacity while the average EVMs functioned at only 60-70% during counting.

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Election Outcome

Despite anticipating a shift in power due to the BJP’s decade-long incumbency, the Congress Party was unable to achieve the expected results. The BJP secured 48 seats in the 90-member assembly, thwarting the Congress’s efforts to regain control, which only garnered 37 seats. This outcome contradicted several exit polls that had predicted a comfortable victory for the party in Haryana.