Questioned about the quality of campaigning in this election, he said: "All campaigns are brutal and aggressive - this was no different. Inspite of our best efforts, the campaign did become communal. BJP started the campaign from Muzaffarnagar. The Gujarat model was just a Mukhauta (mask)."
"The BJP which began their campaign from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh (where communal riots occurred last September), managed to polarize the campaign towards the last phase," he added.
"The Congress party was handicapped as we were not fighting the BJP but an individual. In these circumstances, we could never have a discussion on the policies... everything became individual-centric," the minister said.
Favouring state funding of elections, he said: "There should be a serious expenditure audit. The current norms of expenditure are not realistic."
