The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has admitted that hate speeches by Varun Gandhi and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's sarcastic remarks on the Congress party during the campaign were among the reasons for its humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.

A senior party leader, who is here for a three-day party meeting to introspect on what ails it, said: "The speeches of Modi and Varun Gandhi during the elections were among the reasons for the defeat in the elections." He was referring to the discussions in the closed door meeting.

Modi had made fun of the Congress calling it a 'budhiya (aging woman),' while Varun Gandhi's incendiary speeches against the Muslim community sent shock waves across the country.

The three-day chintan baithak (introspection meeting) of the party that began Wednesday also discussed threadbare a report of a committee headed by party vice-president Bal Apte, the BJP leader said, wishing anonymity.

"Various reasons for the defeat like personalised attacks on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, lopsided campaigning, projection of weak and shady candidates, and in-fighting among top leaders were discussed in detail," the leader said.

"Failure of the party to motivate the youth, debacle in the Delhi assembly elections and Varun's hate speech were also the reasons for the party's defeat," the leader added.

He said the party's humiliating defeat in Delhi before the parliamentary elections gave wrong signals to the masses.

However, senior party leader Arun Jaitley denied that such a report (by the Apte Committee) existed or was discussed at the session.