New Delhi, May 31: Blaming the Bharatiya Janata Party`s (BJP) strategy for the defeat of their National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Janata Dal-United (JD-U) president Sharad Yadav Sunday said there was a "difference between the pre-poll alliance and now".
"The BJP raised all wrong issues and this damaged us. They could not take up any real issues touching the common masses," Yadav, who is also the NDA convenor, told reporters here after his party`s national executive meeting.
"There is a difference between the pre-poll alliance and now. The reasons for the debacle will be raised with the BJP leaders and ways to find a solution will be worked out," said Yadav, flanked by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The BJP reacted guardedly to Yadav`s remarks.
While party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told IANS that the NDA partners "could have their opinion and all issues will be discussed" with them, another leader M. Venkaiah Naidu told a private news channel that the BJP would analyse the results state by state.
Without naming BJP veteran L.K. Advani, who was the NDA`s candidate for the post of Prime Minister, Yadav rued: "The BJP could not recreate the magic of the (former Prime Minister Atal Bihari) Vajpayee days."
The JD-U leader also took a dig at the BJP president and said that "despite Rajnath Singh and many other leaders being originally farmers, the BJP could not raise any issues relating to the farmers.
"This could have been effective because in the opposite camp (the Congress), Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi... none of them is a farmer," he said.
In sharp contrast to the BJP`s ideological line, Nitish Kumar said his party approved of the Sachar Committee`s recommendations to improve the socio-economic situation of the Muslim minorities.
"The JD-U is for reservation to the Dalits among Muslims and Christians," he said.
When pointed out that this was not in sync with the views of the BJP that heads the NDA, Nitish Kumar said: "So what? BJP is another party. It has its view, we have ours."
IANS
