New Delhi: Senior BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha has said there could have been "some difference" in his party's results in Bihar assembly elections, had he been projected as the chief ministerial candidate.
Replying to questions from Rajat Sharma in India TV show Aaj Ki Baat last night, Sinha said: "I am not bragging, but I do feel that when the darling (laadla) of Bihar people, the dhartiputra (son of the soil of Bihar), and the original Bihari Babu was deliberately sidelined, it definitely had an impact on my supporters and fans. I can't say how much difference it could have been, but I can definitely say, some difference would have been them. We could have definitely got more seats that what we got."
(in Hindi: Dekhiye, main utni badi baat to nahin kar sakta hoon lekin haan, itna zaroor lagta hai ki janboojh kar aapne Bihar ke kisi laadle ko, Bihar ke dhartiputra ko, Bihar ke original Bihari Babu ko use jaanboojh kar..kin karanon se aapne alag rakha hai..alag rakhne se zaahir hai ki mere samarthakon aur prashansakon par uska asar to pada hoga. Mai yeh nahin keh sakta ki parinaam me kitna farq padta, lekin itna zaroor keh sakta hoon ki thoda farq toh zaroor padta. Jitni seaten aayi hai, umeed karta hoon, samajh sakt hoon, usse to zyada hi seaten aati.)
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Hitting out at the party leadership for inducting leaders from outside to micromanage the party campaign in Bihar, Sinha said: "A large number of leaders were collected from outside, some from Punjab, some from Maharashtra and Delhi, who were completely out of touch with grassroots and ground reality, who did not understand the caste equations here, nor had control over the local dialects, such people were stationed here for months together, so much money, talent and energy were spent, and what was the result? ..We did not learn from the earlier defeat in Delhi. It showed desperation. We lost badly and that makes me sad."
Asked whether he was unhappy because he was not made a minister at the Centre, Sinha replied: "I have said this earlier..These are all stale dialogues, planted by vested interests. Some people grabbed too many posts on their shoulders. They started saying I am unhappy because I was not made a minister. You don't get feathers of gold on you (surkhaab ke par) when you become a minister, but yes, when I was not made a minister, my fans, supporters, my relatives, friend, and my voters began thinking why was not made minister. What was my sin? Was my performance not good as Health Minister (during Vajpayee regime), or whether I did not perform well in the Shipping Ministry. Why my name was deliberately kept out from banners and posters here. Several times they felt I was being deliberately sidelined, for some particular reason, on which I will not speak much.
"I know, and I console myself by saying that selecting a minister is the Prime Minister's prerogative. I am not challenging his wisdom, but simutaneously I console him, if not today, tomorrow (I may become minister)."
Sinha said, asking the Prime Minister to address so many rallies was also a mistake. "Our Prime Minister, our Supreme Leader addressed 40-40 rallies in villages and towns. Sometimes I feel, BJP would not have got the seats it got, had not our Prime Minister addressed those rallies. But is it the right method? Could we not lessen the Prime Minister's burden? Could we not have been brought to the front? But why, I think you know the reason better. You analyze, and that's why, I say, first fix accountability, then take action against those responsible, it could be a lesson, so that the coming generation in other states must not repeat the same. This time it was an acid test in Bihar, and there will be more such tests starting from Bengal."
The disgruntled BJP MP from Patna Saheb said: "I have said it earlier and I repeat it now, Bharatiya Janata Party shall be my first and probably last party. I joined this party at a time when it had two MPs and today it commands majority. I had been a participant in its joys and sorrows and had always walked in tandem. If the party thinks my utility is there, then I am with my party.. Whether it is Bengal, or UP, or Timbuktoo, I am ready to work for the party and our people, to strengthen the hands of our Prime Minister, our Supreme Leader, our dashing and dyanmic Narendra Modi."
Sinha said: "There is no final clock, no final day in the calendar of politics. Similarly, this time of defeat, following our victories in four states, and defeats in Delhi and Bihar, should make us learn lessons, to strap up our boots, in the matter of discipline, in the matter of passion and commitment, by working together for the party."
Sinha sidestepped a pointed question whether it was Sushil Modi who sidelined him during the campaign. He said: "You (Rajat Sharma) know it all. Rajat Sharma is a learned person. You know everything, but as I said just now, we all belong to one family, and we should rather learn our lessons from defeat by introspecting and fixing accountability. Like R K Singh, the former Home Secretary of the country, a mature person said, there must be introspection and accountability must be fixed, so that we can take this defeat as a challenge and convert it into an opportunity."
