Minority votes affected Cong’s poll prospects, says Devender

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Devender Yadav expressed pride in the hard work of party workers during the Delhi Assembly elections, despite the party’s inability to capitalise on it.

Yadav acknowledged that though the Congress struggled to gain significant ground, the efforts of its ground-level workers played a crucial role.

Speaking to mediapersons on Monday, Yadav highlighted that the Congress’ failure to secure the Dalit and minority votes contributed to the party’s poor performance and indirectly benefitted the BJP. He attributed this outcome to a misperception among the Dalit and minority voters that the AAP would form the government, leading them to direct their anti-BJP votes for the AAP instead of the Congress.

“The Dalits and Minorities, uncomfortable with the BJP’s politics, believed that THE AAP would form the government, so they limited their votes to it. This affected the Congress’ vote share and benefited the BJP,” Yadav said.

While the party managed to retain its cadre votes, which rose to 6.34 per cent, the Congress struggled to win over key voter segments, specifically Dalits and Muslims. Yadav said despite strong candidates and dedicated campaigning, the Congress was unable to convince these voters that the party had a realistic chance of forming the government.

“Dalits and minorities were uncomfortable with the politics of the BJP and wanted to prevent it from forming the government. Unfortunately, they ended up supporting the AAP, which impacted the Congress’ prospects,” Yadav said.