Sonia rules out damage to the ruling Indian UPA coalition in wake of assembly poll verdicts

New Delhi, Mar 7 (PTI) Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi today ruled out any "damage" to India's ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government in the wake of electoral outcomes in the assembly polls in five states. Wrong choice of candidates and weak organisation in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh played a role in the party's dismal performance, Gandhi, who is also the chairperson of UPA, said. Price rise could have also been a factor for the party's poor performance in the elections, she added and declared that the Congress has to "pull up its socks" for the coming electoral battles in the states of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. Appearing before the media a day after the party's dismal showing in the assembly elections in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Goa, Gandhi said a meeting of all the leaders, including from the states, will be called to analyse the reasons. "Every election is a lesson for us. Whether we win or lose, there is a lesson for us," Gandhi said. Queried whether there was lack of leadership, she responded, "I would say rather than lack of leadership, (there are) too many leaders .... That is our problem." The Congress President said that the party organisation was weak in Uttar Pradesh. "There was disenchantment with the (ruling) BSP and the SP (the winning party) was the alternative," she said. On Uttarakhand, Gandhi said the Congress had the numbers and the party should be called to form the government. She said the party had hoped to form a government in Punjab but could not due to damage done by the Punjab People's Party (PPP), floated by Akali Dal rebel Manpreet Singh Badal. "The PPP damaged us in 23 seats," she said. Gandhi said many voters were unhappy with the party in Goa and, therefore "they voted against us". Asked whether corruption was an issue in the elections, she claimed that the Congress was the only party fighting against corruption. "We passed the Lokpal (Ombudsman) bill in Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) .... But who blocked it in the Rajya Sabha (the upper house)?" she asked. (UPA coalition does not have a majority in the house.) PTI