Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Shatrughan Sinha has been speaking his mind more freely of late, ever since his party was trounced in the Bihar polls.
In the course of one of his rants against the BJP, Sinha complained that he was sidelined, and suggestd that ‘things could have been different if he was called for campaigning’.
Realising that the comment was being interpreted in a different manner, he later clarified. He tweeted:
Media tried to create an impression that I had suggested that results cud've been different IF I WAS CM CANDIDATE. I have never said this.
— Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) November 12, 2015
I had no such expectations (of being made CM candidate). Have ONLY said – if I was called for campaigning, things could have been better.
— Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) November 12, 2015
Other than ruing that fact that he was not included in the BJP’s Bihar campaign, the leader has been also demanding that the accountability be fixed for the debacle. This in a way lends credence to the bogey raised by seniors in the party like LK Advani, and Murli Manohar Joshi.
He tweeted:
“Now that the verdict is out and we’re saddened by this humiliating defeat, we should not run away from fixing responsibility.”
Sinha has been giving signals that he was upset with the party since some time now, and the Bihar loss only emboldened his voice. He even went and met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Pasad Yadav.
He went to the extent of calling Nitish the ‘most respectable’ leader after former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, ‘among friends in the opposition’. Accoding to some accounts, his stay in the BJP could be short-lived, as the party is said to mulling over sacking him for his comments.