BJP leaders have begun introspection into the reasons that led to the disappointing performance. Party office bearers maintain that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has almost maintained his popularity among the voters, several mistakes in candidate selection and the growing perception among Dalits that the BJP will re-write the constitution if it achieves «400 par» target are the primary reasons for its dismal performance.
Leaders flock to Delhi after BJP fails to get absolute majority| Catch it all live
Lost majority, but BJP has breached these citadels for the future
Weaker Modi 3.0 to slow India's big fiscal fight: Moody’s
Apathy among the rank and file of the BJP is being seen as another major factor for the decrease in numbers. The cause for his laidback attitude was the belief that since the party is headed towards a grand victory and the Opposition comprises a disparate group, there was no competition for the BJP. This led many workers to take out their ire against a candidate not of their liking, believing a loss in his/her seat is not going to upset the overall result.
The anger was fanned from the declaration of the first list of candidates itself where the BJP retained most of its MPs. A total of 22 Union ministers have lost this time.
«The induction of leaders from other parties into the BJP at the rate of almost one per day in the last few weeks actually dampened the spirit of the die-hard workers...,» a senior BJP leader told ET.