'The review of the reasons for the rout must not be done by the very persons who have managed the poll and have been responsible for the campaign in Bihar. To say that everyone is responsible for the defeat is to ensure that no one is held responsible,' the veterans added.

Seeking to defend its leadership from the attack by its veterans, the BJP tried to put the ball back in their court, saying the 'healthy precedent' of collective responsibility for poll victories and defeats was set by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani himself.

In a statement issued by former BJP presidents Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu and Nitin Gadkari, the party said: 'We have read the statement issued by some senior members of the party. Obviously, all party members are concerned with the results of the assembly elections in Bihar.'Coming out in support of PM Modi, Rajnath Singh, Naidu and Gadkari said after all the party won the Lok Sabha elections last year under Modi's leadership and now he should not be denigrated.

After 2014 General Elections, BJP leadership had dropped the veterans from the parliamentary board and formed a new committee- Marg Darshak Mandal- to reinstate them. This drew flak from the Opposition which went on to say that they have been put in an old age home.

Indicating that the BJP is not likely to enter into confrontation with its veterans, the party general secretary Ram Madhav said “if our seniors feel that there has to be a assessment, it will be considered”. He further said “we have already been reviewing and analyzing the Bihar defeat. We will continue it, including with seniors. If they feel more, it can be done.”

Conceding that Bihar verdict was “a definite setback”, he said , “we will learn from this experience too”. The BJP and its allies won 58 seats in the 243-member assembly, prompting several BJP MPs from Bihar to speak out against the leadership, especially against BJP President Amit Shah. Shah has earned the wrath of several local BJP leaders for mishandling the campaign from the start, for over-exposing Modi. He now stands repudiated and for denigrating local leaders.

“See, the Bihar result was unexpected. Everybody was anguished and disappointed. So if you start taking action (against those who have criticized the leadership), it will be confusing that against whom you will you take action… Advani, Joshi. The best way is to address concern expressed by veteran”, highly placed BJP sources said. Meanwhile, sources from the camp of the party elders said they will be “waiting and watching” the leadership’s response to the issues they have raised.

The leaders, who have been excluded from the decision making process ever since Amit Shah took the charge of the party, said the Bihar results showed that “no lesson has been learnt from the fiasco” in Delhi where the party won just three of 70 seats.

The veterans hit out at the BJP Parliamentary Board’s conclusion that the party would take collective responsibility for the defeat saying “to say that everyone is responsible for the defeat in Bihar is to ensure that no one is held responsible. It shows that those who would be appropriated credit if the party had won are bent on shrugging off responsibility for disastrous showing in Bihar. Seeking an assessment of the Bihar outcome, they demanded that it should not be done by the very persons who managed the election and were responsible for the campaign in Bihar.

Home Minister and former party President Rajnath Singh expressed the view that the party should not crush dissent and the views of veterans, who have criticized the leadership. Their views should be examined so that corrective steps can be taken. Amidst apparent differences in the party on taking action against veterans, finance minister Arun Jaitley, met one of the veterans, Murli Manohar Joshi. Rajnath was reportedly of the view that Joshi, Advani and Yashwant Sinha and Shanta Kumar, have experience and contributed immensely to the BJP’s growth and the leadership should listen to them.

Rajnath is believed to be in favour of examination and analysis of what veterans have said so that measures can be laid down for good of the party. Such decisions should be acceptable to all. Another former BJP President Nitish Gadkari strongly defended the Prime Minister and Amit Shah and demanded stringent action against those making irresponsible statements and damaging the party’s image. Patna MP, Shatrughan Sinha, called for stringent action against those who ran the poll campaign. “We should not run away from fixing responsibility”, he said. (IPA Service)