Complacency led to loss: Vajpayee

Advani elected leader of the Opposition, Vajpayee will be chairman of BJP parliamentary party

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee yesterday broke his silence over the electoral debacle of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and attributed the defeat to "complacency" and "failure to identify the rival".

Vajpayee, who was elected chairman of the BJP parliamentary party through an amendment made in the party's constitution, said new MPs should learn from the fact that 90 sitting members of the 13th Lok Sabha had lost elections this time.

At the BJP parliamentary party meeting, former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani was elected the leader of the Opposition in Parliament.

"Bahut samhala hai, ab Advaniji samhalenge ( I have been at the helm for too long, let Advaniji now carry this burden)," Vajpayee said on Advani taking over as leader of the Opposition.

Advani's elevation as the leader of BJP parliamentary party is being seen as a signal that he will be the helmsman of the party from now on.

When asked to comment on the role that Vajpayee was expected to play in the parliamentary party, BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu said: "Vajpayeeji will be a guide and inspiration for the party."

In other words, real politik and organisational affairs of the party would be Advani's turf, while Vajpayee would be limited to a more passive role.

Though Vajpayee's role in the party now seems considerably reduced, his statements show that the former Prime Minister will continue to defy any straightjacketing.  "We are not prepared to sit in the Opposition for five years," he said.

"Overconfidence could be one of the causes of the defeat," he told the media after the meeting. "Defeat is an issue for which reasons would have to be found though it has no link to violence," Vajpayee said, replying to a question whether violence in Gujarat was one of the causes for the debacle.

Commenting on Congress President Sonia Gandhi's refusal to accept the Prime Minister's post, Vajpayee said, "Everyone knows my views on this, she ought not to have taken the post."

The meeting of the BJP's MP s also saw the election of  Jaswant Singh as leader of the parliamentary party in the Rajya Sabha as well as the deputy leader of the BJP parliamentary party.

VK Malhotra was elected the deputy leader of the party in the Lok Sabha, while Sushma Swaraj was elected to the same post in the Rajya Sabha. Both have been appointed spokespersons for the BJP parliamentary party.