The Congress on Tuesday accepted defeat in the Delhi Assembly polls and vowed to rebuild and revive itself at the grassroots level in the national capital.

It said the poll results also had a message for the BJP that the “most toxic campaign” unleashed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah had been defeated. “People's mandate is against us, we accept it. We have resolved to revive and rebuild the party,” Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told the media.

“Our vote percentage (across the elections) has come down from 22 per cent to 5-6 per cent. This is a matter of concern and needs evaluation. The Congress and its Delhi unit have decided to redraw from the grassroots and bring in newer, fresher leadership,” he added.

Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopra said, “Attempts to polarise were made by both parties (BJP and AAP) and they were successful to an extent.”

However, he added, the results also showed that the people of Delhi were not with the communal forces. Taking moral responsibility for the defeat, Chopra said, “I worked for 20-21 hours everyday, but I am not tired yet. The Delhi Congress will continue to fight.”

He attacked Arvind Kejriwal's government for spending Rs 3,192 crore on advertisements and remaining silent on the “atrocities against students at Jamia, JNU and Gargi College”. AICC Delhi in-charge P.C. Chacko said the message of the Delhi polls is that the “most toxic campaign” unleashed by Modi and Shah had been defeated by the people of the national capital. “We lost very badly. We accept our defeat with humility. The Congress will work hard and come back,” he said.

Congress leader Kirti Azad, who was also the party's campaign committee chairman, said efforts would be made to strengthen the party at the grassroots level and it that the party would emerge stronger in the municipal elections in 2022.