New Delhi:
The BJP today said that it expects an end soon to the crisis caused by senior leader
LK Advani's resignation from all party posts after he was over-ruled and
Narendra Modi was chosen to lead the party's election campaign.
"We will definitely resolve the issue and you will get good news soon," said party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.
BJP president
Rajnath Singh also refuted reports that the tension is being exacerbated by the party's powerful ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS.
"What is being said about the Sangh is not correct," Mr Singh said this morning.
(Track updates)The RSS has reportedly instructed the BJP that while it's important to win back Mr Advani, no compromise should be offered on the new VVIP status given to Mr Modi.
Senior BJP leaders visited Mr Advani, 85, at his home today to persuade him to withdraw his resignation, which was rejected by the party's top decision-making body last evening.
But cracking the code of a suitable compromise is a challenge.
Sources say that Mr Advani is deeply hurt by the RSS's actions.
(Read)Mr Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat, was named the chairman of the BJP's campaign committee at a party conference in Goa over the weekend. Mr Advani had skipped the conclave; the official reason given was illness. It was, sources say, an RSS writ that called for Mr Modi's promotion to be announced despite Mr Advani's absence.
Yesterday, Mr Advani allegedly told leaders who visited him after he resigned that Mr Modi is "not the correct man to lead India.