Finishing last in absolute terms despite an increase in vote share caused “slight disappointment” for the BJP on Tuesday.
A number of reasons were cited for the party’s performance; while critics alleged that “lack of effective leadership” was to blame; those who preferred to see the glass half full cited the party had evidently succeeded in holding fort in the face of anti-incumbency.
“The results are the beginning of the end of the politics of arrogance, anarchy and lies being practiced by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi exposed meticulously by the BJP over a year,” said Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay.
Mr. Upadhyay, however, admitted that the need for introspection was confronting the party like never before despite having secured the largest vote share at 34.11 percent, but bagging just 3 of the 13 wards that went to the polls. “We have the largest vote share but, yes, we are concerned about the number of seats that we got,” Mr. Upadhyay told The Hindu .
Strategy failure
An insider said the party's performance indicated a much overdue change at the helm of its affairs in the Capital. Citing the selection of candidates fielded, the source said over-confidence seemed to have gotten the better of those making the decision.
“It was, simply, a strategy failure; we were too smug about our chances and the ability of our own candidates,” the insider said.
