Chandigarh: Brij Bedi, the husband of BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi, has attributed her shock defeat to the party cadres’ failure to support her.
“She lost by over 2,000 votes while (BJP leader) Harsh Vardhan used to win (from Krishna Nagar) with a big margin. It means she did not get support… it means your (BJP) cadre did not work. They failed to deliver,” news agency Press Trust of India quoted Mr Bedi as saying.
Ms Bedi lost by over 2,200 votes from Krishna Nagar to Aam Aadmi Party’s SK Bagga. She was fielded from what was till now, a safe seat.
The former police officer was inducted into the party and was declared its chief ministerial candidate just 17 days before the elections.
The para-dropping had reportedly caused some heartburn among the old timers in the party, though it had presented a united front. There were also reports of complaints from the party workers who had objected to her style of functioning.
Defending his wife, Mr Bedi reportedly said she was the face of “good governance”. The party did not lose because of Ms Bedi, “rather it was you (the BJP) which had to ensure her victory,” PTI quoted him as saying.
Following the defeat, Ms Bedi said the loss was not hers but the party’s. “I gave it my best. The BJP is a national party, it should introspect on why it has lost,” she said, contradicting her earlier promise to accept responsibility in the event of a defeat.
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had earlier said the BJP had inducted Ms Bedi when they scented defeat, and had intended to make her a “scapegoat”.
Mr Bedi said he felt that the “entire youth of Delhi” had made their mind this time to ensure electoral victory for AAP, but the party, he said had “over-promised”. “I doubt they will deliver,” he added.