We are surprised with defeat: BJP's Ram Madhav

Says outcome should not be linked to the election for party president scheduled in January next year when Amit Shah is due for re-election

After its bruising defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Ram Madhav said the party was surprised with the results.

"We knew that it will not be a comfortable victory, but we will cross the majority mark. The results are bit surprising. We will have a detailed investigation and analysis of the result," Madhav said.

"Losing elections is very disappointing, we will do necessary introspection," he said.

The BJP leader denied that the reservation statement by the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was one of the reasons behind party's defeat in Bihar. He said the outcome of the Bihar Assembly elections should not be linked to the election for party president scheduled in January next year.

The Caste-map of Bihar

There have been rumours in the party that the outcome of the Bihar polls will decide the re-election of Amit Shah as party  president. Under Shah's leadership the BJP has won seven assembly polls, but failed to win two crucial states of Delhi and Bihar.