Indore: A crucial meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national executive began in Indore on April 4 with party president Venkaiah Naidu blaming indiscipline for party's debacle in Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls and declaring hindutva would not be an election issue for the party in coming electoral battles.

In his inaugural address, Naidu said the coming Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi were semi-finals to the final battle of Lok Sabha elections in which the party hopes to bag 300 seats.

"Indiscipline in the Himachal Pradesh unit led the party down badly. Our loss in Himachal was sought to be interpreted by our adversaries as a defeat of hindutva. Hindutva for us is not an electoral issue to be negotiated in political battlefield."

"Cultural nationalism is our lifeline and hindutva is the soul of India," Naidu said.

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani are attending the national executive meeting.

PTI