He instead cited Bjp's victories in other states under his leadership when asked who he would blame for the party's decline in Uttar Pradesh.
NEW DELHI: Calling the Uttar Pradesh election results "shocking", BJP chief Rajnath Singh, the architect of the saffron strategy for the polls, on Friday refused to own responsibility for the party's debacle in his home state.
He instead cited the victories that the BJP had secured in other states under his leadership when asked who he would blame for the party's decline in Uttar Pradesh.
"What responsibility...? We do concede defeat...," he told a news conference here after the BJP's Parliamentary Board meeting to discuss the election results.
He admitted "some shortcomings" did lead the party to electoral reverses, but identified none.
"Election results are shocking and unprecedented," he said.
The Sangh-backed leader also claimed that the RSS, which is believed to have come in full support of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh elections, had no role in the party's election management.
"The management was fully in our control," he said when asked whether be regarded the reverses as a setback for the RSS as well.
Singh, who has been accused by some in the party of neglecting Brahmins in the state elections, refused comment when asked whether his party lost because of the BSP's Brahmin experiment.
He instead attributed the BJP's loss to what he called public mood to give a clear mandate this time.
"People of Uttar Pradesh did not want to give a fractured mandate and therefore they voted for the BSP. They were tired of coalitions. We welcome the mandate," he said.
The BJP chief, under whose leadership the party had tried to get back its core constituency over its core Hindutva plank, also remarked that his party would make efforts to "regain public confidence".
"We will use our full energy to win public trust and rectify our shortcomings," Singh said, adding his party would work as a constructive opposition in the state.
The BJP chief said his party's legislative group in Uttar Pradesh would meet soon to choose its leader.
He parried questions whether the party would bring about changes in the state unit.
"We will have a meeting with the state leadership and review the election results," Singh said.
The parliamentary board meeting was attended by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and senior party leader L K Advani among others.
Asked about Vajpayee's response to the party's performance, the BJP chief said the results had shocked everybody in the party.
"Election results were shocking and unprecedented," he said.
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