The Hindu Business Line : BJP unhappy, but not demoralised: Mahajan

FOLLOWING the stunning defeat for the BJP-led NDA coalition at the hands of the Congress combine in the Lok Sabha polls, senior leaders and party functionaries appear to have been stunned into silence. Putting up a brave face despite the upset have been the BJP General Secretary, Mr Pramod Mahajan, and senior leader and erstwhile Minister, Ms Sushma Swaraj.

Ever since the poll results were announced, these two party stalwarts, through the electronic media, have had to explain to the nation - or were they seeking an explanation? - as to why the mandate of the electorate went against the NDA coalition that saw through a five-year term.

In a chat on Aaj Tak's `Seedhi Baat' (to be telecast on Sunday), Mr Mahajan said that the BJP was unhappy with the verdict given by the electorate, but the party was not demoralised. He said that he wanted the forthcoming Government to last its complete term.

"I want the Government to last five years, because I believe that elections before five years is not good for the country," he said.

To another query on the Congress President and CPP leader, Ms Sonia Gandhi, taking over as the Prime Minister of the country, Mr Mahajan said: "We are not unhappy because a woman would become the Prime Minister, but we are unhappy because a foreigner would be the PM of the country."

Explaining the BJP viewpoint, he said that the poll verdict was not a referendum for a foreigner to take over as the Prime Minister. "It is a fractured verdict and not a referendum for Sonia to become the Prime Minister," he said.

"Nowhere during the elections had the Congress projected Sonia Gandhi as their Prime Ministerial candidate, because they knew that the electorate will not accept her as the PM of the country," Mr Mahajan said, elaborating further.

Commenting on the election results in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Mr Mahajan said that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) indulged in caste-based politics. "The BJP will never resort to caste-based politics," he said. Doing some introspection on the BJP as an organisation, Mr Mahajan conceded that the BJP leaders had not been able to lead the organisation as it should have been, resulting in its weakening.