Leadership, tickets... BJP seeks answers

NEW DELHI: On Monday, as the city brought back the Congress to power with a resounding victory, the BJP was left shell-shocked. With visions of winning "at least 35 seats'' as CM-designate VK Malhotra had told TOI having been proved to be just a mirage, party members were baying for blood. As the day unfolded, clamour for the resignation of state chief Harshvardhan as well as campaign strategist BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley were making the rounds.
The mood at the BJP Pradesh office said it all crackers left unused and garlands withering in a corner even as party leaders avoided the media as well as party workers.The mood got uglier as the results kept coming in. Said a senior party worker, "It's a shame for the party that we couldn't even get 30 seats. The entire state leadership should resign as they're responsible for the debacle.'' It wasn't a lone voice. While ground level workers blamed the leadership for the shocking verdict, senior functionaries blamed sabotage by vested interests.
Said a senior party functionary, "There have been several reports of anti-party activity by workers from many candidates who lost. Many seats were compromised because the local workers campaigned against the candidate.'' It's a factor that even Malhotra admitted could be one of the reasons for BJP's loss. The effect was certainly visible in many constituencies, especially in state chief Harshvardhan's seat of Krishna Nagar, it was pointed out. Considered a stronghold of the BJP, the shocker here came early in the morning as Harshvardhan kept trailing till noon behind his Congress opponent.
Workers though blamed the selection of candidates for the dismal performance. The failure of the party to give tickets to sitting councillors was cited as one reason. Said a saffron member, "BJP lost at least 4-5 seats when it refused to consider councillors for the Assembly elections. Seats like Mustafabad, Gokulpur and even Rohtas Nagar (from where former DPCC chief Ram Babu Sharma won) could have come to the BJP kitty if councillors had been fielded.'' Candidates like Nakul Bhardwaj (Patparganj) and Om Prakash Sharma (Vishwas Nagar) also failed to make a mark, despite reports of strong anti-incumbancy in these areas. "The BJP experimented at a time when it should have stuck to winning candidates. For instance, in Patparganj, Murari Singh Panwar (who was fielded from Laxmi Nagar) would have made more of an impact than Bhardwaj, while in Shahdara, which was a sure-shot seat, the natural candidate was a former MLA, Ram Niwas Goel, who wasn't even given a ticket,'' added a source. Instead, the seat was given to the Akali Dal, a decision which proved fatal for the party as the Akali candidates lost all four seats. It was the same story in Mustafabad, where a strong Gujjar candidate could have made all the difference, say party insiders.
BJP's decision to go with local issues also seemed to have backfired. The apparent in-fighting between leaders only added to the problem. Said the source, "The people saw price rise as a global phenomenon, which even BJP couldn't have tackled. The lack of a clear development plan as well as the lacklustre leadership of Malhotra, along with the fight for the CM seat between Harshvardhan and Vijay Goel, only made it seem more petty.''
The Mumbai terror attack, which the BJP had tried to ride on on the last day of campaigning, also didn't work for the party, admit insiders.