Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Dinesh Gundu Rao on Monday resigned from his post after the party suffered a massive defeat in the bye-elections. In a press conference held at the party’s headquarters in Bengaluru, Dinesh Gundu Rao said that he is taking moral responsibility for the defeat. His resignation came minutes after Siddaramaiah resigned as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party in Karnataka.
Addressing the media, Dinesh Gundu Rao said, “I have the moral and ethical responsibility here. I had a feeling yesterday (Sunday) that something would go wrong and I discussed this with the high command and other senior leaders. Since the party did not win, I have the moral responsibility to resign. I am resigning as the KPCC President and I have informed all the leaders. I will send my resignation letter to AICC President Sonia Gandhi.”
The MLA from Gandhinagar said that he had expected the voters to teach the defectors a lesson. He said that he had worked day and night along with other leaders and party workers to campaign for the party’s candidates in the 15 segments, but had become apprehensive when the exit polls came out.
"Yes, we are deeply hurt by the results because these were leaders who betrayed us. We expected the voters to teach them a lesson. But we have to accept and respect the mandate. I would like to congratulate all candidates who won, especially Rizwan Arshad and HP Manjunath,” he said.
Dinesh Gundu Rao said that he had been given the responsibility of ensuring the party’s victory during Lok Sabha and the bye-election, but he could not deliver despite trying his best. He said that he would be submitting an analytical report to the AICC interim President Sonia Gandhi before vacating his office.
“I was the KPCC President during the Lok Sabha elections and now, during the bye-elections, I am the President. At the time of Parliamentary elections, there was a coalition and due to various reasons we could not win. The AICC gave me a chance in selecting the candidates, in allocating the responsibility to allot work to the cadre. Without consulting me, AICC had not taken any decision. And now I have to accept moral responsibility for the party’s defeat,” he added.
The bye-polls were necessitated after 17 Congress and JD(S) MLAs resigned and brought down the coalition government. The bye-elections were held in 15 of the 17 segments on December 5. The results were announced on Monday and the BJP won 12 seats while the Congress won two seats. Independent candidate Sharat Bachegowda won the remaining one seat. The JD(S) did not win a single seat in the bye-polls.