Headlines
Delhi poll timing wrong, not setback for Modi: Naidu
Acknowledging the AAP's landslide victory in the Delhi assembly polls,
union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu Saturday admitted
that the timing of the election was a "tactical" mistake and the BJP
must prepare itself for other parties coming together.
AAP chief
Arvind Kejriwal was Saturday sworn in as Delhi's chief minister by Lt.
Governor Najeeb Jung at the Ramlila Maidan in the heart of the national
capital.
It was a "tactical" mistake to have the polls so late
after the Lok Sabha election in May 2014, Naidu said at the launch of
singer and Minister of State for Urban Development Babul Supriyo's music
album "Because I Love You".
"Definitely it is a setback,
undoubtedly. BJP's place is intact in Delhi. In 2013 and 2015 assembly
elections, BJP's vote bank remained intact. What happened is, other
parties which were there lost maximum of their base and vote. They were
transferred to local parties," Naidu said here.
"We made a
tactical mistake. I have no hesitation in accepting it. After the Lok
Sabha election, if we would have gone for the assembly polls
immediately, we would have won hands down. A lot of time has passed," he
said.
Naidu, however, said the defeat has not affected the BJP leadership.
"There is no question of any setback to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leadership," he said.
"The
lesson for the BJP in this election is even if all parties join
together, we must be in a position to win polls," Naidu said.
He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has to "introspect and find out ways and means to expand its base further".
"We
must be ready to fight against other challenges. If other parties come
together then we must be in a position to face them effectively and win
the polls," he added.