Advani takes blame, offers to quit as leader of oppn

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani today took full responsibility for his party’s defeat in the general elections and said he would not hold the post of leader of opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha.

A traumatised BJP is wondering whom to appoint to the three important posts: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and the president of the party.

Jaswant Singh was the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha. He has now moved to the Lok Sabha. So his successor has to be appointed. Jaitely’s name is being considered for the job.

Sushma Swaraj, Murli Manohar Joshi and Jaswant Singh are in the Lok Sabha now. One of them is likely to be appointed the leader of opposition.

Party President Rajnath Singh is not pressing for a legislative position because he is keen on a second term as party president.

Advani, who presided over the meeting of the BJP’s parliamentary board, comprising seven key leaders, at his residence, told his partymen that they should nominate “a new face’’ as the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha.

BJP General Secretary Arun Jaitley, who briefed the media about the hour-long meeting, said all members of the board rejected Advani’s proposal and insisted that he must continue to lead the party in the Lok Sabha. “However, Advaniji kept insisting on his stand and the board has mandated Rajnath Singhji to persuade him to change his stand,’’ he said.

This was the first formal meeting of BJP after it conceded defeat to the Congress earlier in the day. Sources said Advani’s offer also helped deflect attention from the blame game among the leaders for the party’s poor performance.

Those who were present at the meeting included Rajnath Singh, Jaitley and senior leaders like Venkaiah Naidu, Jaswant Singh, Bal Apte, Sushma Swaraj and Ram Lal.

Earlier, Advani called up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi to congratulate them on the UPA’s victory. He offered cooperation to the UPA government in meeting the challenges of national security and economy.

Speakers at the BJP meeting said both the BJP and the NDA had not measured up to their expectations. “We have got fewer seats than expected. We did well in several states while in some states our performance is below our expectations,’’ said a statement by the BJP.

Jaitley said the party would not react in a knee-jerk fashion and would deeply analyse the reasons for its defeat.