C'garh: BJP to introspect on sombre performance in tribal belt

, Dec 13: Stung by a dismal show in tribal regions of

in the just-ended Assembly polls,

leaders have exhorted for an "introspection" to consolidate party's prospects in the areas, ahead of the general elections.

Though the saffron party managed to retain its hold over state Assembly elections, it got a cold shoulder by the tribals in many of their dominated areas. Prominent BJP ministers - Nankiram Kanwar, Ramvichar Netam and Lata Usendi - and several sitting MLAs tasted defeat in the elections from tribal areas, where the party had an overwhelming backing till recently.

Of the 29 scheduled tribe (ST) reserved seats, the Congress won 18, leaving just 11 for the ruling party. Surprised by the results, BJP MLA Mahesh Gagda told PTI it was a matter of concern that the tribal leaders who were connected to the people have lost.

Gagda, the second time MLA, retained his Bijapur (ST) seat from Bastar region, defeating Vikram Mandavi (Cong) by 9,487 votes.

"We will sit together and introspect to find out our lacunae. We will work on the issues and yield a better result in Lok Sabha election," he said. Another prominent leader from Bastar, Kedar Kashyap, who was tribal welfare minister in the last term of BJP, regretted that even after concentrating enough in tribal areas, the party suffered a setback.

"There was focus on the tribal region but it seems that some mistake happened. It is the time to sit together and discuss the issue within the party," he said. Kashyap, who beat Congress' Chandan Singh Kashyap from Narayanpur seat by 12,800 votes, also expressed confidence of a good show by BJP in Bastar region during Lok Sabha polls.

In 2008, BJP had won 19 ST seats, while Congress was limited to 10. Prior to that, in 2003, BJP had a spectacular show winning 25 ST reserved seats, leaving only 9 for rival Congress out of the total 34 seats.

PTI