The BJP will to have to reach out to its old guard following the Bihar debacle, a party leader in Jammu and Kashmir said on Monday.
"We thought it was going to be neck and neck contest but our dismal showing has come as a rude shock," said a senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader who did not want to be identified by name.
The BJP was routed by the Grand Alliance of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the Bihar assembly election on Sunday.
The BJP leader said the influence of the party's old leadership -- an apparent reference to L.K. Advani -- had been undermined by the present leadership.
"We have to have a rethink. Old is gold. Distancing them from decision making has damaged the broad base of the BJP in the country," the leader added.