A shell-shocked BJP on Tuesday described its comprehensive defeat in the Delhi polls as “collective failure” and a “big setback” for the party and admitted that it failed to assess the mood of the people. Assuring that it would “honestly introspect” the causes of defeat, the BJP maintained that no single individual can be held responsible for the debacle.
The party congratulated AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on his landslide victory and hoped he will fulfill the promises made by him ahead of polls and assured the Centre’s support to his Government in Delhi without any political discrimination.
“We have lost badly. We accept our massive defeat with all humility. We will seriously look into the reasons. We probably feel we have faulted in gauging the mood of the people of Delhi. We will seriously think about it and take a comprehensive review of the reasons that led to this defeat,” Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. “We will work as a constructive Opposition and will oppose whereever required,” he said.
Prasad said that with Congress decimated to zero in these polls, it was a matter of concern for the oldest party of the country. “I leave it to the Congress to introspect. It is their internal matter,” he said.
Another senior leader and Party general secretary P Muralidhar Rao said, “BJP's defeat in Delhi elections is a collective failure of our party. It cannot be thrown on any single individual. We all own the loss. Election results for Delhi is a setback for BJP.”
BJP Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said, “It is a big setback for us. We will assess the reasons of the defeat. We accept the verdict of the people and hope Kejriwal fulfills his promises made to people.”
Party’s national secretary Shrikant Sharma said the party accepts the verdict of people and hoped Kejriwal will provide people of Delhi clean water, 24-hour power and security of women, besides in-situ development of jhuggis. In his reaction, RSS ideologue MG Vaidya said AAP’s victory is a win of “anti-BJPism”.
“All anti-BJP parties and groups and groups joined hands in support of AAP and this was the reason for the unexpected results,” he said on being asked about the Delhi poll outcome. AAP swept the polls winning 67 of the 70 seats and BJP got a paltry three.
He said this should not be viewed as AAP’s win. “This should not be seen as AAP’s victory but a win for anti-BJPism. And the face of this is AAP,” he said. Vaidya said AAP’s slate was blank now. “What they write on it in the next five years should be the basis for the analysis of this win,” he said. Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who is seen as a Hindutva voice, on Tuesday blamed “polarisation of pseudo-secular forces” for BJP's rout in Delhi elections.
Singh suggested that Muslims were rallied against the BJP and claimed the saffron party was defeated in a similar way as “Abhimanyu was killed in a chakravyuh” by enemies, quoting the Hindu epic Mahabharat.