Delhi defeat: PM Narendra Modi holds deliberations with Cabinet colleagues

New Delhi, Feb 10: In the backdrop of BJP's shocking defeat in the Delhi Assembly election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held deliberations with his senior Cabinet colleagues from the party.

Immediately after the meeting of the Union Cabinet was over, the Prime Minister had a discussion for one-and-a-half hours with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Chemical and Fertilisers Minister Ananth Kumar, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot.

There was no official word on what transpired in the meeting. The defeat in Delhi Assembly polls has come for BJP nearly a fortnight before the Budget Session of Parliament is to commence on February 23. Opposition parties are expected to attack the government latching on to the Delhi defeat.

Halting the Modi juggernaut in its tracks, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today scored a landslide victory in the Delhi election by winning 67 of the 70 seats leaving BJP with only three and completely decimating Congress which drew a blank.

In an election that was billed as a referendum on thePrime Minister, the AAP tornado threw veterans of both BJP and Congress into the electoral dustbin in their traditional bastions.

BJP leaders accepted that the defeat as a "setback" but dismissed suggestions that it was against the Modi government's performance.

Speaking separately before the Cabinet meeting, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharati tried to put up a brave face and downplayed the BJP debacle, saying that expecting BJP to win every election in India is an expression of "feudal mindset".

"In democracy this (losing) happens. This is feudal mentality if we think that everywhere we have to win. This is feudal mindset. In democratic mindset, this happens. Anybody can form government in any state. In democratic system, any one can be defeated anywhere and one should accept it gracefully," she said.

Asked what went wrong with BJP in the election, she said, "This is not the correct platform to discuss our shortcomings."

Telecom Minister Ravishankar Prasad earlier said, "We have lost badly. We accept our defeat with all humility. We will seriously look into the reasons. We probably feel we have faulted in gauging the mood of the people of Delhi. We will seriously think about it and take a comprehensive review of the reasons that led to this defeat."

He said that the Modi government treats everyone equally without any political discrimination and the same principle will apply in Delhi. "We will work as a constructive opposition and will oppose whereever required," he said.

PTI