No ties with Cong, misuse of govt machinery led to defeat: LJP

LJP, which has been routed in Bihar in the Lok Sabha polls, today attributed its defeat to "misuse" of the government machinery by the ruling NDA and absence of an alliance with Congress.     

"When the government machinery is misused, what results can you expect? There was no Nitish wave in Bihar. He only misused the government machinery for political gains," LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters.     

Eight-time Lok Sabha member Paswan, who himself lost the polls from Hajipur, admitted that the "biggest mistake" was not to have a pre-poll alliance with Congress, a view expressed by RJD leader Lalu Prasad as well.     

LJP, RJD and Samajwadi Party had formed the Fourth Front but it came a cropper with the trio unable to retain even half of the seats held by them in the last Lok Sabha. SP has bagged 22 seats and RJD four while LJP has drawn a blank. The trio had won 64 seats in 2004.     

Paswan, who once held the Guinness record for winning with the highest margin of 4,24,000 votes in 1977 from Hajipur, said the party will meet on May 20 to analyse the poll outcome.     

He said LJP lost certain seats by small margins, ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 and felt that lack of alliance with Congress proved dearly. "It was not that having an alliance with RJD was mistake," he added.