At his hour of ignominy, BJP stands by Advani

BJP president Rajnath Singh today said there was no question of fixing responsibility on anyone in the party for the dismal performance of the NDA, but stated that the reasons behind the verdict would be analysed.

"There is no question of taking responsibility," Singh told reporters outside his residence when asked whether he would take responsibility for the results.

Singh, who was on his way to meet L K Advani, whom the NDA had projected as the prime ministerial candidate, conceded that the poll results were not up to the expectations of the party or its alliance.

"After the poll results, we will do an analysis of the reasons why these results have not come up to our expectations," he said.

BJP and NDA were expected to do well in states like Delhi, Rajasthan and Maharastra but we did not fare well, he said.

To a query, Singh dismissed suggestions that there was a possibility of a split in the NDA after the dismal results. He also said the results did not show that the era of smaller parties was over.

On who would be the Leader of the Opposition now from the NDA's behalf, he said: "Advani was, is and will continue to be our leader....there are not two opinions about it."

Singh said former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had always campaigned for the BJP, but could not do so this time, indicating that the party had missed its crowd-puller during the run-up to the polls.