BJP leaders slam communal remarks, blame induction of defectors for party loss

NEW DELHI: A day after its humiliating electoral defeat, BJP was under attack from its own workers and old ally, Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal). Both blamed its negative campaign for the debacle.

On Wednesday, Akali candidate Manjinder Singh Sirsa criticized BJP for allowing its MPs to make communal and regressive remarks. "The party failed to convey PM Narendra Modi's vision and sentiment to the people of Delhi. The campaign was completely negative. And people didn't like it. MPs like Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti made regressive and communal statements. These didn't go down well with people," said Sirsa, who contested from Rajouri Garden.

In 2013, Sirsa had won by 11,008 votes. This time, he lost by 10,036 votes to Aam Aadmi Party's Jarnail Singh. "There could be other factors also for the loss. But the main reason was BJP's negative campaigning and regressive remarks," said Sirsa.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana said, "We can understand his frustration as he has lost the election. But these things should not be discussed in the media".

BJP members blamed the party brass for running a negative campaign. Party MP Kirti Azad said BJP lost an opportunity to stage a comeback in Delhi after 16 years. "It (negative campaign) did the damage. The party should have focused on the positive aspects of the central government. We couldn't project the achievements of the Modi government due to the negative campaign."

While the party is yet to analyse its loss, Delhi unit members say unfair ticket distribution also did a lot of damage. During Lok Sabha elections, BJP fielded Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari to win over Poorvanchalis, but ignored them in the assembly elections, said Delhi BJP vice-president Poonam Azad. AAP fielded 12 Poorvanchalis to BJP's three.

Reacting to other members' remarks, Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said, "Sirsa should communicate his views through his party leadership. We need to analyse the election result. But this shouldn't be done in public. They (Kirti and Poonam Azad) spoke in their personal capacity, I don't want to comment on it".

Party members and workers say the leadership is to blame as it took all the decisions. "Giving tickets to turncoats was a big mistake. The party should have considered its own workers over them," said a senior BJP member.

Till Wednesday, the top brass had held no meeting or discussion with the state unit to analyse the loss.