Bhagwat remark, beef controversy had nothing to do with Bihar poll debacle: R S Prasad

New Delhi: Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said, the controversial remark on caste reservation by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat (later withdrawn) and the raging beef controversy had nothing to do with the election debacle faced by BJP in Bihar.

Replying to questions from Rajat Sharma in Aaj Ki Baat show on India TV last night, the Union Minister however admitted that "it was a big defeat, which was completely unexpected."

Asked whether BJP was put on the defensive because of Bhagwat's remark during the Bihar poll campaign, Prasad said: "That is being unnecessarily hyped. I do not agree. They were making it an issue at the lower level, but later it was clarified both by the RSS and the Prime Minister. It was not such a big issue. But I agree it is a big defeat for us, which have faced after a long time in Bihar. More than a year back we had an emphatic win in Bihar during the Lok Sabha elections. We had also won in elections before that, but this time we are back to our position during the Nineties.

"We will have to seriously assess the reasons behind the defeat. We lost in Tirhut, Siwan, Chhapra, Aara, and were decimated in Mithila. This is a serious issue. In Patna city, we won all the seats, but not in the rural areas. We lost even in those seats where we had won earlier."

The senior BJP leader gave his own assessment about the reasons behind the debacle.

"In the last Lok Sabha polls, JD-U and RJD had 36 per cent vote share.We thought they would not be able to transfer their votebanks to each other, but they did manage to transfer. Compared to them, our vote banks were smaller. They had contested the Lok Sabha polls on different platforms, but this time it was a direct vote bank transfer.

"Secondly, I feel Laluji has his social base, and he managed to convey this message to his social base by saying, 'you had been out of the power structure for the last 10 years. When I lost in 2005, you should have stood by me. I will ensure your participation in power.' This is my personal assessment, not the definitive one. But the statistics that I gathered from the Election Commision website clearly indicates there had been a sort of social consolidation. Nitish Kumar's image also helped, and both these factors worked in a complementary manner."

Asked whether Prime Minister Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah will face the flak, the Union Minister replied: "Were the attacks not been made against them earlier? Rahul Gandhi is even perturbed over our Prime Minister's foreign tours. We had been winning elections because of the campaign and management of Modi and Amit Shah, we won Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana. This was a state election, a high-profile one, no doubt, because Lalu, Nitish Kumar and Congress had come together which gave this election a bigger profile.

"Let me say sincerely, both Modiji and Amit Shah put in a lot of time and energy. We gave an agenda of development to the people of Bihar, we wanted the people of Bihar to walk with the government at the Centre, but the electorate did not accept it. We must admit."

Asked whether the move to polarize votes by making remarks on beef and Pakistan led to losses, Ravi Shankar Prasad replied: "Please do not assess the magnitude of this defeat on the basis of beef, Pakistan remark or Mohan Bhagwat's remark on reservation. This defeat is bigger than those issues. As far as polarization is concerned, Lalu Yadav had been saying this since day one. Now that the poll campaign is over, I won't speak much on this, but let me say, when we earlier lost in Lok Sabha elections, they alleged we polarized the votes, when we won the Lok Sabha polls, they alleged we polarized, so they make such allegations regularly. Now on the beef controversy, from where this politics originated, we will have much time later to speak on it, but I will not speak on this today. But I will definitely say that we should practise restraint. I will ask some of my friends also to practise restraint while speaking on this."

Asked how the party's initial campaign by announcing Rs 1.65 lakh crore package later put the BJP on the defensive, Prasad replied: "Even if I accept your remark logically, then why did we lose in the first phase? I am trying to say, this entire issue of beef and other controversies, went on and on as the campaign stretched, and the attacks became aggressive. Yes, I want to say this to some of our friends, practise restraint while making remarks. I had publicly opposed the remarks made about Shah Rukh Khan. I said he is a patriot and he is doing good work. After all, we are the biggest party in India, we are running this country, and we should keep such things in mind. Winning or losing do take place in elections."

Asked whether it would now become difficult to run the country with the opposition becoming more vocal, the Union Minister said: "Opposition has the right to become vocal. We will reply to their aggressiveness. We have not lose the country, we have lost a state. We are the biggest party, and the people of the country have given us a majority to run the country, and I would hope, now that the opposition has won, it will act with humility and ensure that the nation is run properly, and they should understand their responsibility too."