DHAKA: Rahul Gandhi, who led the Congress’ campaign for the 2014 elections, is looking for answers for the party’s worst-ever showing at the polls and office-bearers have been asked to identify the reasons for the wipeout.

The feedback received from the state units was likely to be discussed when the Congress Working Committee would meet Monday to take stock of the Lok Sabha results and plan the way forward, said sources.

The Congress managed just 44 seats, 162 down from its 2009 tally that also beat its poorest showing of 114 in 1999.

The party failed to open account in 13 states — Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa, Odisha, Jharkhand, Tripura, Sikkim, Nagaland and Tamil Nadu. Sikkim and Nagaland have one Lok Sabha seat each.

Rahul’s attempt to pick candidates in US-style primaries — his dream project — too brought home disappointment. For 15 constituencies, candidates were picked after an internal vote but not one managed to impress voters.

A section is of the view that the Congress failed to project Rahul as a decisive leader when compared to competition — BJP’s Narendra Modi.

‘No doubt, he led from the front but there was confusion among the people about the Congress’ PM candidate,’ a senior functionary said, reports Hindustan Times.

BDST: 1250 HRS, MAY 18, 2014