"Both the BJP and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) need to think of a more inclusive agenda. Of course BJP has to do it. Otherwise, it will never come back to power," Mishra told CNN-IBN.
"Even last time it (BJP) came to power with alliance parties which were 'secular' and BJP had to say that okay we will not pursue the Ram Mandir and Uniform Civil Code issues," he said, adding that, "Hindutva is now regarded as anti-something, not as a positive force for Hindus... It is anti-this community anti-that community."
On whether BJP's repeated attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was also responsible for the party's defeat, Mishra said, "It heightens the sense of negativism in regard to BJP's campaign. It benefited the PM in that regard."
He said there was a "sense of negativism" in BJP's campaign which was one of the reasons for the party's defeat in Lok Sabha elections.
Asked whether the negative campaign was the real problem for BJP, he said, "Yes certainly, that's exactly what I mean. They should have been talking about the infrastructure etc, which was created during NDA (National Democratic Alliance) regime, in which there was no improvement during UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government's rule."
Though he agreed that party's failure to act against Varun Gandhi was a reason for the electoral loss, it was not the only reason for BJP's defeat, he said.
