Within 24 hours of the declaration of results for by-elections to 18 assembly seats and Nellore Lok Sabha seat, the Congress party leaders have started making their own analyses of the people’s verdict, rather than doing soul searching the party’s debacle.

Take for example, deputy chief minister Damodar Raja Narasimha. He said the Congress party had lost the polls only because of its own faults and miscalculations, rather than the greatness of YSR Congress party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.

“We had not reacted in time for the by-elections and failed to alert the cadres right on time. As a result, there was a sort of dullness among the workers. Had we started making preparations for the by-polls three or four months in advance, the result would have been different,” he said.

Damodar felt that the weakness of the Congress party in having the preparedness for by-polls had become the strength for the rival party.

“We will have to take to corrective steps in future to see that such mistakes do not recur,” he said.

On the other hand, senior Congress leader J C Diwakar Reddy said the major reason for the loss of the Congress party was the too much importance given to late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy by the party leaders.

“Because of this personality worship in the party, the people have thought there was no alternative to YSR. We need to overcome from this personality cult,” he said.