Union Minister Nitin Gadkari supports Narendra Modi- Amit Shah

Gadkari, a former BJP President, also demanded stringent action against those making “irresponsible” statements against Modi and Shah, who are facing flak from within the BJP and also allies for the NDA’s massive defeat in the key Hindi heartland state. “Modi and Shah alone can’t be held responsible for the party’s poor show in Bihar. It is a collective responsibility of all party office bearers and leaders,” he said.

“I have told party chief Shah to initiate stringent action against those making irresponsible statements and causing damage to the party’s image,” Gadkari said. He said when the party faces defeat, everyone talks of a review but when it wins, no one demands analysis. On BJP veterans L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Yashwant Sinha and Shanta Kumar issuing a statement demanding a thorough review of the reasons for the Bihar rout, an act seen as a revolt against the leadership of Modi and Shah, Gadkari said “We will talk to Advaniji on the issue.”

He ruled out the possibility of Shah quitting his post following the debacle. Gadkari admitted that the grand alliance of JD(U), RJD and Congress has strengthened itself in Bihar. “Our efforts now would be to increase our strength in the State,” he said. He felt that post-Bihar polls, parties opposed to NDA may try to come together.

As the voice of dissent got shriller within BJP after its drubbing in the Bihar assembly elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said it was natural that the reaction would be strong as the saffron outfit had made a high-profile campaign in the state. “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction,” Kumar said, reacting to the strongly-worded statement of BJP veterans L K Advani, M M Joshi, Shanta Kumar and Yashwant Sinha raising a banner of revolt against the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“BJP had created a hype over Bihar elections and made its campaign high-profile in tune with it. So, the reaction would also be of that proportion,” Kumar said. The Chief Minister added, “Advani and Joshi formed the triumvirate of BJP along with A B Vajpayee and if they are saying something about the party, it is a serious matter.” After Shatrughan Sinha, R K Singh, Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav and Bhola Singh, the four BJP veterans had issued a joint statement that demanded a thorough review of the debacle and responsibility fixed for the defeat in Bihar.

“The principal reason for the latest defeat is the way the party has been emasculated in the last year,” the veterans had demanded. The party members further added, “A through review must be done of the reasons for the defeat as well as of the way the party is being forced to kow-tow to a handful,

and how its consensual character has been destroyed.”