The Congress on Saturday decided that it will not participate in election debates on television on Sunday when the results for assembly polls for five states are out. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said in view of the serious coronavirus situation in the country that the party's spokespersons will not participate on the TV debates after poll results are out.
The results for assembly elections in states of Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala will be declared on May 2. The active cases of COVID-19 in these states as of May 2 morning are 25,173 in Assam, 3,23,828 in Kerala, 9,519 in Puducherry, 1,15,128 in Tamil Nadu and 1,13,624 in West Bengal.
"At a time when Nation is facing an unprecedented crisis, when Govt under PM Modi has collapsed, we find it unacceptable to not hold them accountable and instead discuss election wins and losses. We @INCIndia have decided to withdraw our spokespersons from election debates," Randeep Surjewala said on Twitter.
"We shall remain available for any comment that media friends want. We may win, we may lose, but at a time when people are looking for oxygen, beds, medicines, ventilators; our duty tells us to stand by them, work with them to heal and help. In solidarity with India," he said in another tweet.
Exit polls have predicted a not so bright picture for the Congress in these elections, where they predict that except in Tamil Nadu, where its ally DMK will romp home to power, the Congress will not fare good in other states.
In the exit polls, nearly all polls predicted that the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) will come back to power in Kerala, while in West Bengal, it was a tight race between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Most polls predicted a victory for the DMK-Congress-Left alliance in Tamil Nadu over the ruling AIADMK. The ruling BJP will triumph in Assam, said the polls, while the AIADMK-BJP-NR Congress will be ahead in Puducherry, said the polls.
(With PTI input)