Patna, Jan. 24: Almost two months after the Assembly elections in Bihar, the Congress is trying to find out the reasons behind the party’s poor show in the polls.

Majority of the district presidents, who were present at the meeting convened by Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Choudhary Mehboob Ali Kaiser, said giving party nominations to outsiders and subsequent revolt by the workers and leaders were the main reasons for the party’s poll debacle.

Sources said the majority of the people present at the meet said if the party’s genuine and dedicated workers had been given tickets, the Congress would have fared well, sources said. Sources quoted district presidents as saying that the mass-scale revolt by party workers who staged dharnas, burnt effigies of leaders and laid siege to Sadaqat Ashram came into the limelight for all the wrong reasons and led to the humiliating and historic defeat.

They also expressed concern over the poor and defunct organisational structure of the party as another reason for the defeat. Of 38 districts, the party structure has been more or less defunct in 32 districts. Also, more than 450 blocks did not have proper organisational structure, which needed to be dealt with on an urgent basis.

Admitting the poor organisational structure at the grassroots level, party spokesman Vinod Sharma said: “Until and unless the organisational structure at panchayat and block levels are strengthened, we will continue to be in a mess. To tone up the party, we are going to organise workshops and strengthen it in three months.”

Sources said some of the members at the meeting praised the chief minister’s bicycle scheme for having a positive impact on the poll outcome.

Of the 38 district presidents, around 16 district presidents and 14 representatives attended the five-hour-long meeting.

None of the party’s four legislators were present on the occasion, sources said.

Sharma, however, said it was not meant for legislators and was convened only for the party’s district presidents.

One of the senior party leaders of the state said if that was the case, then why were other district presidents present in the meeting.

“They (the state leadership) did not even think of inviting us (senior leaders) in the meeting. If the party really wanted to assess or review the situation then it would have invited the winning candidates (four legislators). What does the party want to achieve by inviting the defeated lot (candidates),” a senior leader, on the condition of anonymity, told The Telegraph.

Sources said the issue of 28 vehicles, which were given to the district presidents for campaigning during the Assembly elections held in October-November 2009, was also raised during the review meeting.

It was learnt that out of 28 vehicles, just eight vehicles have been returned to the party and the rest who have not returned the vehicles till date have been asked to do so at the earliest, sources said.