File photo of Narendra Modi.
Narendra Modi, the BJP's election campaign chief, was absent when 12 of his party's top leaders and over 60 members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its affiliated organisations met in Delhi today to discuss the strategy for next year's general elections.
Crucial issues like the BJP's poll-preparedness, the party's election manifesto and even a coordination plan for 2014 were discussed; but when Mr Modi should be named the BJP's candidate for prime minister was not brought up.
The RSS spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya said it was not discussed because there is now no confusion over the issue. "There might be confusion outside, not inside," he said tersely.
The RSS has indicated repeatedly over the last three days that the process of discussion and consensus-building over Mr Modi is now over. It is now waiting for BJP president Rajnath Singh to call a meeting soon of the party's panel of 12 top leaders, the parliamentary board, to endorse the decision to name the Gujarat Chief Minister presumptive PM for 2014.
Mr Modi, who was the only BJP chief minister invited for the two-day brainstorming session, had attended a marathon 12-hour meeting yesterday. Today, however, he chose to be at a farmer's summit that began in his state.
In Ahmedabad, he played host to BJP ally Parkash Singh Badal of the Akali Dal, who said he would be happy to support Mr Modi's candidacy. "Modiji, you should not write vibrant Gujarat, you should write vibrant India. Why are you confining yourself only to Gujarat?" Mr Badal said.
The RSS reportedly favours naming Mr Modi before Assembly elections for five states are notified, expected by the 22nd of this month. An anti-Modi coterie, including LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj, though has argued for that declaration to be delayed till after the Assembly elections are held in November.
Despite the RSS' elaborate plan to build consensus, Mr Advani has reportedly not come around. On both days of the conclave, he came in late, preferring to attend non-party functions.