Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi greets supporters at Dabolim airport in Vasco in Goa, where the Bharatiya Janata Party’s national executive is meeting.
Panaji: A divided BJP will wait until today to take a call on appointing Narendra Modi as the head of a crucial 2014 general election campaign committee, even as his potential ascent has created a sharp rift within the party.
Modi, who has emerged as a strong contender for becoming the prime ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was supposed to be announced the head of party’s campaign committee for 2014.
The decision, which was to be taken in a meeting of party leaders on Friday, was put off after strong resistance from senior party leader L K Advani and his camp.
The BJP veteran, who is reportedly ill, skipped the BJP national executive meeting for the first time in his entire political career, casting a long shadow on Modi’s prime ministerial aspirations.
The party was at pains to explain the absence of 85-year-old Advani, with a spokesperson insisting that his “health is really bad”.
The absence of Advani and his reported reluctance to endorse Modi’s credentials just yet have forced the party to delay, even if temporarily, the move to make Modi the face of its Lok Sabha poll campaign.
Modi, who arrived confidently at the three-day conclave and had a string of leaders clamouring to anoint him as the party’s prime ministerial candidate for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls, had until today to swing the tide in his favour as BJP leaders continued to hint at a “big announcement” to be made by the end of the meet.
Party President Rajnath Singh, who has appeared to be on Modi’s side, in his inaugural address to the meet said all would go home “happy and enthusiastic”. This could be interpreted as indication of a major announcement, even as BJP leaders remain tight-lipped on record.
Insiders suggested that Rajnath Singh had offered Modi a compromise formula whereby the latter would be appointed convenor of the campaign committee for the general elections.
Modi is, however, learnt to have rejected the offer for now.
Sources also said leaders of the party’s parliamentary board were to have an informal meeting late yesterday to decide on the issue.
Party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman toed the party line, saying Advani was being briefed about all developments.
“Rajnathji has talked to Advaniji yesterday and today. He is being briefed about all developments here,” Sitharaman said.
The Goa developments led to alleged supporters of Modi protesting outside Advani’s home in New Delhi. They demanded that he clear the way for Modi to become BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.
Sitharaman was quick to condemn the protest.
“Party workers don’t protest against party leaders. BJP has nothing to do with the protest. We condemn it,” she said.
Interestingly, part spokesperson Prakash Javadekar described the absence of Advani and other senior leaders as “nothing unusual”.
At the national executive meeting, Rajnath Singh spoke on issues ranging from internal and external security, corruption and politicisation of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to the need for creating strong and confident relations with neighbouring countries.
Apart from Advani, other leaders missing from the meeting are Jaswant Singh, Uma Bharti, Shatrughan Sinha, Varun Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi.
IANS
