File pic: LK Advani, Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh at an event
A number of top BJP leaders have this morning visited LK Advani, who has pushed his party into emergency mode again by refusing to contest the general elections from Gandhinagar in Narendra Modi's Gujarat. Mr Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, was the first to visit Mr Advani at his residence this morning.
Here are 10 developments in the story:
Mr Advani reportedly told Mr Modi that he wants to contest from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh this time. No sooner had Mr Modi left, senior leaders like Sushma Swaraj, Venkaiah Naidu and Arun Jaitley met Mr Advani, the party's senior most leader, one by one in a bid to settle the crisis.
Venkaiah Naidu told NDTV, "There will be a happy end to all this." Party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman insisted, "There is no rift...Advani ji is our most senior leader."
Mr Advani, who has been winning from Gandhinagar for the last 16 years straight, has reportedly asked why he cannot contest a seat of his choice when Mr Modi's wish to contest from Varanasi and party president Rajnath Singh's from Lucknow, was heeded by the party.
At a meeting of top BJP leaders in Delhi yesterday, the party decided that it would "prefer" that Mr Advani remain in Gandhinagar. Mr Modi reportedly argued in favour of fielding Mr Advani from the seat he has won five times.
This despite Mr Advani reportedly indicating to the party earlier this week that he wants to shift to Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh, which returned the BJP to power with a thumping majority in state elections last December, has Shivraj Singh Chouhan, seen as close to Mr Advani and someone he trusts.
Party leaders who have met Mr Advani since last night have attempted to assure him that Mr Modi, who is chief minister of Gujarat, will ensure a win for him from Gandhinagar. Mr Advani is reportedly worried about getting inadequate support from BJP workers in the state after his public anti-Modi protest last year.
The BJP faces a piquant situation. Candidates are nominated by the BJP's election committee based on recommendations by state units. Since Mr Advani is a sitting MP from Gujarat, the Madhya Prdaesh unit cannot nominate him. The Gujarat BJP unit has unanimously recommended that the senior leader be fielded from Gandhinagar.
Leaders close to Mr Modi have argued that if Mr Advani moves out of Gandhinagar, Mr Modi's political opponents will attack him over such a senior leader's discomfiture at contesting from his state.
Mr Modi met Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the BJP's ideological mentor the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS. Mr Bhagwat had last year intervened to bring around Mr Advani when he staged his protracted protest against Mr Modi's elevation in the party, first to head the BJP's election campaign and then as prime ministerial candidate.
The BJP has released its list of candidates for Madhya Pradesh, but has not allotted five seats to anyone yet. These include state capital Bhopal, where Mr Advani wants to contest from.
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