New Delhi:
A few hours before Nitin Gadkari's meant to announce his new team for the BJP, there are some last-minute hiccups.
Sources say the list of leaders selected by Gadkari is not the Dream Team of the BJP's parent body, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).
Gadkari met RSS leaders in Delhi on Tuesday morning and will now consult with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
In addition to the changes that the RSS may want, much of the attention today will be on the role envisaged for Varun Gandhi. The BJP is searching for young leaders who can draw large crowds and connect with them. i.e. their equivalent of Rahul Gandhi. Despite his hate speech in the campaign for the last general elections, Varun Gandhi may get a senior post as secretary. His brief will be clear: resurrect the BJP in UP, which will pit him directly against his cousin, Rahul, is being widely credited with reviving the Congress' fortunes in the state. (Read: Comeback for Varun, Raje?)
Gadkari's new team will have to rescue the party from the effect of recent losses in elections in different parts of the country. Cricket commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu and the BJP's Muslim poster boy and former minister, Shahnawaz Hussain, are tipped to get senior positions.
The new team is also expected to feature former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who had openly rebelled against Rajnath Singh. Also, Manohar Parrikar, who less than six months ago had called L K Advani a rancid pickle.
Sources say the list of leaders selected by Gadkari is not the Dream Team of the BJP's parent body, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).
Gadkari met RSS leaders in Delhi on Tuesday morning and will now consult with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
In addition to the changes that the RSS may want, much of the attention today will be on the role envisaged for Varun Gandhi. The BJP is searching for young leaders who can draw large crowds and connect with them. i.e. their equivalent of Rahul Gandhi. Despite his hate speech in the campaign for the last general elections, Varun Gandhi may get a senior post as secretary. His brief will be clear: resurrect the BJP in UP, which will pit him directly against his cousin, Rahul, is being widely credited with reviving the Congress' fortunes in the state. (Read: Comeback for Varun, Raje?)
Gadkari's new team will have to rescue the party from the effect of recent losses in elections in different parts of the country. Cricket commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu and the BJP's Muslim poster boy and former minister, Shahnawaz Hussain, are tipped to get senior positions.
The new team is also expected to feature former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who had openly rebelled against Rajnath Singh. Also, Manohar Parrikar, who less than six months ago had called L K Advani a rancid pickle.
