Could not gauge mood of people: Congress

New Delhi: Embarrassed by the unprecedented rout in Delhi Assembly polls, Congress on Tuesday admitted it "could not gauge" the mood of the people. "I am shattered by the disappointing performance of the party. I could not gauge the mood of the people," AICC in-charge for Delhi PC Chacko said in his missive to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi as he offered his resignation owning moral responsibility.

He also said that he was ready for any sacrifice to rebuild the party "even without any post" under their leadership. "I offer my resignation with humility to make way for any change, which the party may deem necessary," Chacko said in the missive, according to sources.

Halting the Narendra Modi juggernaut in its tracks, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today scored a landslide victory by winning as many as 67 of the 70 seats leaving BJP with only three and completely decimating Congress which drew a blank.

Congress lost the eight seats it had won last time. These were the seats, it was winning for last three elections. The party did not have any great hopes from these elections but did not imagine that it would score a duck. "This is a big embarrassment, a big shock. The results are far below our expectations. All of us will have to see what went so wrong," Chacko said.

Dismissing questions about Rahul Gandhi's responsibility for the results, he said, "Rahul Gandhi was not contesting in Delhi. He was not leading in Delhi. How can he be held responsible for a state election defeat?" Congress lost deposit in most of the seats and its veterans were pushed to third position with the contest largely remaining a bi-polar one between AAP and BJP.

What has been a major concern for Congress is that its vote percentage showed a constant decline from around 24 per cent in 2013 Assembly polls and around 15 per cent in 2014 Lok Sabha polls to nearly 10 per cent this time, a senior AICC functionary said.

The leader said that with this result, there will be great difficulty in rebuilding the party and it should also brace for the eventuality of some leaders deserting it. The leader said that it's time for a complete revamp of the party as there are no easy solutions.