ALAPPUZHA: BJP state president PS Sreedharan Pillai came under heavy criticism at the party’s core committee on Tuesday for the untimely statements he had made in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. According to the committee members, the comments created confusion among voters and turned out to be a major reason for the debacle of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state.
The committee, which evaluated the increase in BJP’s vote share, also pointed out the state leaders failed to coordinate the election campaign properly despite the NDA enjoying a favourable situation. It is learnt Pillai countered the criticism and said a few of his rivals were targeting him and spreading rumours.
The committee members chose not to disclose the details of the meeting, which was stormy.
BJP general secretary MT Ramesh later told reporters the party made big strides in the state in the Lok Sabha elections and it caused much damage to the CPM.
“The CPM suffered heavy damage in the polls. The result shows a split in the CPM’s traditional vote bank. BJP may have failed to win a seat, but we increased our vote share in a few key seats. Though we expected victory in two to three seats, it didn’t materialise. We made significant gains in Pathanamthitta and Thrissur seats,” said Ramesh. Both the LDF and UDF spewed communal venom in the elections, utilising minority communities against Narendra Modi, he added.
Untimely statements