Reasons And Excuses For BJP's Loss

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<b>Cracks start appearing in NDA</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The JD(U) leaders had also declined to sign a BJP-proposed "NDA agenda for governance" and the NDA did not hold a single meeting on common strategy in the run-up to the general elections.

Besides, JD(U), the only NDA constituent that is happy with the poll outcome is the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) led by Ajit Singh, which has won five of the seven seats it had contested from western Uttar Pradesh in an pre-poll arrangement with the BJP.

However, the BJP did not gain from the alliance as its tally in UP remained unchanged at 10 seats.

The performance of Shiromani Akali Dal [Images] in Punjab, where it managed to win just 4 Lok Sabha seats, was the most dismal. Besides, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in Assam was just reduced to one seat, while the Telengana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) won only two. The BJP had pinned its hopes of making substantial gains in these three states.

The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) led by O P Chautala in Haryana, did not even win a single seat. A section of the BJP was opposed to return of INLD into the NDA fold and had opted for Bhajan Lal-led Janhit Party, which has managed to win one seat.

The Shiv Sena [Images] faired poorly in Maharashtra with just winning 11 seats.

However, the entry of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJMM), a small regional group from West Bengal into the NDA fold, had helped BJP's senior leader Jaswant Singh win from Darjeeling.
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