Defending LK Advani, BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu says the party's prime ministerial candidate alone cannot be held responsible for its defeat in the Lok Sabha polls and felt that certain issues had created a "negative impact" in the minds of people who believed in moderation.
"There are various reasons...different states behaved in different manner. It is not about leaders alone," Naidu said.
He was responding to a question by Karan Thapar in the 'Devil's Advocate' programme on CNN-IBN whether Advani's age and his hardliner image was the reason behind BJP's defeat.
The former BJP president said no individual is responsible for the party's performance and, therefore, Advani cannot be held solely responsible.
"Of Advaniji there is no comparison in this country. There were local factors. If Advani is rejected or Manmohan Singh is accepted, there has to be uniform trend across the country, small, minor exceptions. That is not the case. You have seen good results in number of states," he added.
He said Advani's image is of a decisive leader. He termed as "propaganda by some of our opponents" suggestions that Advani's image as a hardliner worked against the party.
Naidu said most of the Indians believe in moderation and the party had been trying to put that across in the best possible manner before the people. But unfortunately, on certain issues, "negative impact" was created in the minds of people, he said.
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