New Delhi: The BJP is in damage control mode after senior leaders including Jaswant Singh went public with their criticism of the leadership after the party's Lok Sabha defeat.
A series of meetings took place in the Capital on Friday.
First, BJP president Rajnath Singh drove to L K Advani's house. And then, the two men being targeted for their extremist image -- Narendra Modi and Varun Gandhi -- met with Rajnath Singh.
Sources say Modi is livid at being blamed for the BJP's election defeat. Many of his supporters see this as a means to scuttle his chances to lead the party.
But the dissent only seems to be growing. And there is divide over how to tackle it. Today there were reports that the group close to L K Advani wanted action against Jaswant Singh but by the afternoon there was a swift denial.
Said party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy: "Its is absolutely wrong. There is no such proposal and no such action proposed against Jaswant. He did raise an issue in the core committee and that matter is in the custody of the core committee. no action will be taken against Jaswant Singh."
This was despite Singh's pointed statements to NDTV, indicating that the extreme Hindutva line had harmed the party.
Former key Vajpayee man and former National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra went a step further saying categorically that the BJP should not have given Varun Gandhi a ticket.
The party's national executive meets next weekend in New Delhi. But rather than introspect on what led to the defeat, the BJP's battle will be to try and ensure an united front in the days to come.
BJP insiders say that these factional fights might intensify in the days ahead as the party's leaders jockey for power in the war of succession in the post-Advani era. A war that will culminate with the election of a new party president in December.