File pic of LK Advani with Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh
New Delhi:
Despite a series of house calls from the BJP's top leaders, including Narendra Modi, there's no white flag being waved yet by LK Advani. The party veteran remains bent on running for parliament from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and not Gandhinagar, the constituency in Gujarat that he has represented for five terms.
Mr Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, once Mr Advani's protege, was the first visitor at Mr Advani's home this morning. Others including Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj followed, but left without a breakthrough.
So the BJP's ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS, then pinged Mr Advani. On the phone, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said the BJP's top leaders must present a united front. Resolve the crisis through consultations, the RSS decreed.
It also reportedly reprimanded the BJP for nominating Mr Advani from Gandhinagar despite his wish to contest from Bhopal.
Yesterday, top BJP leaders in Delhi decided that the party would "prefer" for Mr Advani to remain in Gandhinagar.
Mr Advani made his own preference perfectly clear- he said that since Mr Modi and BJP president Rajnath Singh had been granted the constituencies they wanted, he should be shown the same courtesy.
Mr Modi, 64, has governed Gujarat for more than 10 years. An exit by Mr Advani from the state will reflect poorly on the prime ministerial candidate, the BJP feel. Mr Advani's supporters, on the other hand, worry that BJP workers in Gujarat will work against him as payback for an unsuccessful attempt last year to stop Mr Modi from being nominated for prime minister.
Mr Advani's interest in swapping Gandhinagar for Bhopal reflects two political complexities for his party: it upends the fractious relationship he now shares with Mr Modi, and it suggests a strengthening alliance for him with Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, a leader who he backed as an option to Mr Modi for the prime ministerial nomination.
Mr Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, once Mr Advani's protege, was the first visitor at Mr Advani's home this morning. Others including Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj followed, but left without a breakthrough.
So the BJP's ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS, then pinged Mr Advani. On the phone, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said the BJP's top leaders must present a united front. Resolve the crisis through consultations, the RSS decreed.
It also reportedly reprimanded the BJP for nominating Mr Advani from Gandhinagar despite his wish to contest from Bhopal.
Yesterday, top BJP leaders in Delhi decided that the party would "prefer" for Mr Advani to remain in Gandhinagar.
Mr Advani made his own preference perfectly clear- he said that since Mr Modi and BJP president Rajnath Singh had been granted the constituencies they wanted, he should be shown the same courtesy.
Mr Modi, 64, has governed Gujarat for more than 10 years. An exit by Mr Advani from the state will reflect poorly on the prime ministerial candidate, the BJP feel. Mr Advani's supporters, on the other hand, worry that BJP workers in Gujarat will work against him as payback for an unsuccessful attempt last year to stop Mr Modi from being nominated for prime minister.
Mr Advani's interest in swapping Gandhinagar for Bhopal reflects two political complexities for his party: it upends the fractious relationship he now shares with Mr Modi, and it suggests a strengthening alliance for him with Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, a leader who he backed as an option to Mr Modi for the prime ministerial nomination.
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