Former BJP president Rajnath Singh, whose tenure witnessed a bitter infighting among leaders especially after the 2009 Lok Sabha debacle, on Thursday apologised for any mistakes or wrong decisions during his term.
"There may have been mistakes...There could have been improper decisions and you should forgive me for the mistakes," said Rajnath. At the same time, he said whatever decisions were taken by him in his capacity as party president were comparable to King Vikramaditya, known for his just rule.
"I was also sitting on the Vikramaditya throne," Rajnath said, adding the aim was to take just decisions though some improper decisions may have been taken. As if conveying a message to those who threw a challenge to his presidentship during his tenure, Rajnath told party cadres, "Your respect for this chair should not diminish." He sought to downplay the loss in the 2009 general elections but said all was not lost for BJP as it was big party with governments in six states. Invoking former US President Richard Nixon's statement, Rajnath said, "A man is not finished when he is defeated but he is defeated when he quits." Rajnath expressed the hope that the next government after the 2014 elections would be by a BJP-led coalition.
"On the failure of today, we should strive to remove the deficiencies of the past by working in the present and focussing on 2014 so that we can regain power," Rajnath asserted. "We should move with a positive approach and with confidence," he said. Rajnath insisted that BJP will be decimated if it moves away from its core ideology.
Citing the corporate war between cola giants Pepsi and Coke, Rajnath said, "To beat Pepsi which was selling more, Coke adopted its formula but its sales dipped by 60 per cent. It then realised that its consumers, who were used to the original taste, had starting consuming Pepsi." He admitted that the Lok Sabha poll results were not up to BJP's expectations as it was hoping to win up to 175 seats. "We wanted to make L K Advani prime minister and regret that this could not be achieved," he said. PTI
