Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his deputy Lal Kishenchand Advani on Sunday said 'organisational shortcomings' and infighting in the Bharatiya Janata Party's Himachal Pradesh unit were responsible for the party's defeat in the assembly election.
"We should have fought unitedly. The people were angry with us and this was evident from the kind of response there was at the election meetings. Had we fought unitedly the results would have been different," Vajpayee said at a meeting of party leaders to analyse the BJP's poll performance in four states, especially Himachal Pradesh.
The lack of enthusiasm among crowds at the election meetings in Himachal Pradesh showed that 'the infighting message had reached the grassroots level', he said referring to the differences between Union minister Shanta Kumar and acting Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal.
He took exception to the reported remarks of Shanta Kumar that people were unhappy with the performance of the Dhumal government. The party had asked Kumar for an explanation, he added.
Addressing the office-bearers, Advani said the party could not overcome the anti-incumbency factor in Himachal Pradesh.
"The lesson to be learnt is that we have to restructure the organisation so that it is toned up," he added.
The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the BJP's performance in the three northeastern states of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura.
He said in Nagaland, the BJP, with seven seats in its kitty, was part of a coalition [Democratic Alliance of Nagaland] that was on the verge of forming the government.
Vajpayee said the BJP could have got more seats if it had campaigned vigorously in the Northeast.