LJP chief and union minister Ram Vilas Paswan
Union minister and BJP ally Ram Vilas Paswan today said Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's comments suggesting a review of reservation "led to fear among voters" in Bihar, which rejected the BJP's alliance in favour of the one led by Nitish Kumar in the assembly elections.
Mr Paswan was cautious in his criticism of partner BJP's ideological mentor as he assessed the humiliating defeat their alliance suffered ten days ago. "The RSS is an independent organization... but in the context it spoke, it created a backward-forward divide and led to fear among the voters," Mr Paswan said, also adding that he did not believe that was the only reason the BJP-led alliance lost.
"I don't think that was the only issue. The PM clarified, everyone else also clarified... but it's true that it spread fear and the opposition exploited it," he said.
He also said, "Who are we to say whether such statements should have been made or not... We failed to convince backward castes that we are for reservation."
Mr Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party or LJP, which draws its core support from backward castes who benefit from affirmative action, contested 40 seats in the Bihar assembly elections. It won two. Just a year ago, it had won six of the seven parliamentary seats it contested in the national elections.
The BJP's four-party alliance managed to win only 58 of Bihar's 243 assembly seats. The Nitish Kumar-led 'Grand Alliance' won 178, a two-thirds majority and
Mr Kumar will take oath tomorrow along with his new council of minsters, his third straight term as chief minister.
Not only allies but also some leaders from the BJP have said Mr Bhagwat's comments cost their National Democratic Alliance or NDA dearly in a state where Dalits and other backward castes make up a little over 50 per cent of the electorate.
In the BJP, several party leaders, including four veterans have demanded that accountability be fixed for the defeat in Bihar, where the campaign was fronted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.
But Mr Paswan said, "The defeat is not the responsibility of one individual... all the PM's rallies were very well attended. Amit Shah strengthened the organisation, I saw it. All allies were in it together."