While the BJP conceded defeat to JD (U)-RJD-Congress alliance in the Bihar poll and congratulated the rival winning-combine, the party’s Parliamentary Board is expected to meet Monday to analyse in detail the results and figure out its “poor performance” despite an elaborate and rigorous campaigning and planning in the high-stake Assembly election.
While all senior leaders refused to go into the reasons of party’s beating at the hands of the foes-turned-friends combine — lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar — others in the party office admitted that “development plank got derailed” on account of “negative campaigning” during the elections. “ We could not break into their arithmetic” , they sought to explain the poll results that massively favoured the political opponents of the grand alliance.
BJP general secretary Kailash Vijay Vergia said the party could not push development agenda in the poll in the face of “disinformation” unleashed by the rivals. Party leader from Bihar and Union Minister Ram Kripal Yadav said it was for the top brass to analyse and introspect the reasons behind these results.
Another BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav dismissed suggestions that the appeal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on the wane in view of Bihar poll verdict but said the party will take corrective measures.
“We try to learn from every election. Give us some time. We will take corrective measures,” he said soon after as it became clear that the NDA has lost ground.
He said the Prime Minister remained their “strongest” factor and the party was right in using its strongest factor to the most.
The BJP leader and former RSS spokesperson said what led to the NDA’s loss will have to analysed after they received all figures, adding that not one factor leads to victory or loss in elections.
Madhav said there were efforts to use every issue to influence the Bihar poll outcome and suggested that the return of awards by artists and intellectuals over “climate of intolerance” was one of them.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up and congratulated Nitish Kumar as did the BJP President Amit Shah. Kumar thanked Prime Minister for his greetings. BJP President Amit Shah also congratulated Kumar and Prasad saying “ we respect the mandate of people of Bihar.”
HM Rajnath Singh who called up Kumar and Prasad to greet them on their party’s performance in the elections also affirmed that “The economic package for Bihar is a commitment given by the PM which will be fulfilled by the Centre at all cost”.