PM accepts defeat on Twitter

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament before the start of Winter Session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he hoped for smooth proceedings and appealed to opposition parties to cooperate. He, however, kept mum on the BJP’s poor electoral performance.

But later in the day he admitted in a series of tweets that the BJP accepts the people's mandate with humility. He also thanked the voters and said the BJP governments had worked tirelessly.

Almost turning philosophical, the PM also said: "Victory and defeat are an integral part of life." He said the BJP workers had worked "day and night" for the state elections. "I salute them for their hard work," he added.

The results would only further his resolve to serve people and work even harder for the development of India. He also congratulated the Congress for its victories.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was more forthcoming in his assessment. He said the 2019 election will be an election that will revolve around the central government and the leadership of PM Modi. The issue will be tried and tested sound governance versus an alliance without any ideology.

‘‘I am quite determined our cadres will introspect on the outcome and the tide will turn the other way. No election depends on an individual. An election depends on several factors. If you see Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, you will see we are fraction of a percent ahead in popular vote in MP and behind in Rajasthan. In Madhya Pradesh, the final jury is still out. We will wait for the last vote to be counted. Of course, we got less seats than we expected. We did not anticipate the Chhattisgarh gap will be so large.’’