Amidst the ruins, candidates rue Rahul’s campaign absence

GURGAON: That Congress would lose was a forgone conclusion. That Congress candidates lost deposits in all four seats — Gurgaon, Badshahpur, Sohna and Pataudi — is a story in itself.
In fact, its candidate Rohtash Bedi, considered close to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, did not manage even 4,000 votes of out of the 148,319 polled in Sohna. Badshapur witnessed a similar saffron-wash, where Virender Singh got just 10,989 votes.
36-year-old Bedi said he was shocked by the result, which he claimed was engineered by a Hindu-Muslim divide. He claimed that had Rahul Gandhi campaigned in Gurgaon, the result could have been different. “I was expecting at least 25,000 votes. Days before the polls, a strong rumour was floated that Hindus needed to unite to defeat Muslims. But Rao Inderjit and Dharamvir leaving Congress to join BJP was also a big blow,” said the former district Youth Congress president.
“Had Rahul Gandhi campaigned in Gurgaon it would have helped us all. It would have made a big difference. Sadly, instead of Gurgaon, he chose to campaign in Mewat,” he said with disappointment.