First the fatality; and now the post-mortem! After a loss of seven seats in the polls, the BJP is indulging in some introspection to find out the causes.
For the purpose, it has set up seven-member committee under the chairmanship of state BJP stalwart Balramji Dass Tandon.
The panel would evaluate the failure of the coalition in the recently-concluded lok Sabha elections, and the reasons that led the SAD-BJP alliance to secure just six seats out of the total 13 in Punjab that too at a time when the Modi wave has swept the Congress and Aam Aadmi party of its feet from the entire nation.
Besides Tandon, other members of the Committee include party’s national vice-president laxmi Kanta Chawla, former Cabinet Minister Manoranjan Kalia, former State BJP chief Rajinder Bhandari, former state BJP president and MlA Ashwani Sharma, former Cabinet Minister and Political Advisor to Punjab Chief Minister Tikshan Sud, and Punjab Traders’ Board chairman Narottam Dev Ratti.
The decision has been taken during the State BJP unit’s core committee meeting, held in New Delhi, on Tuesday under the presidentship of State party president Kamal Sharma. Party’s state affairs in-charge Shanta Kumar and co-in-charge Shyam Jaju were also present in the meeting.
“The committee would assess the party’s performance in the recent concluded lok Sabha elections, besides the issues concerning the people of Punjab and make recommendations for corrective measures thereof,” a senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity, told The Pioneer.
It was informed that the Committee would look into the issues that led to party’s defeat, including growing drug menace, tax burden including property tax and the taxes on trading community, high prices of sand and gravel besides its unavailability, deteriorating law and order situation, among others, and would submit its report to the party high command.
Various BJP leaders, including state BJP chief Kamal Sharma, had blamed its alliance partner, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), for the alliance’s performance.
Even as the party has improved its 2009 lok Sabha polls’ tally of one seat to two, but the defeat of BJP’s national leader Arun Jaitley in Amritsar has belittled the victories at other two seats.
Balramji Dass Tandon had blamed the Akali leadership for party’s defeat in Amritsar, while party’s MlA from Amritsar East had directly pointed fingers at Youth Akali leader and State Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia.
The party, in its core committee meeting, pointed that its vote share has increased from 7.18 per cent during 2012 state assembly polls, to 8.7 per cent during 2014 general elections.
“But to find out what led to the party’s defeat in Amritsar, the committee has been constituted….as this is a point of worry,” said the leader.