BJP plays down Advani's absence on Day 1 of meet

 BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said that senior party leader LK Advani will arrive in Goa on Saturday to attend the national executive meeting and the media should not read too much about the delay in his arrival.

Speculation has been rife after it became apparent that Advani will not arrive in Goa on Friday. Speaking to reporters outside the venue of national executive meeting, Naidu said Advani is not able to come to Goa on Friday because of 'health reasons' . There was speculation in the media about Advani's delayed arrival.

'There is no need to read too many things in everything,' Naidu said.

Replying to queries from the media about a few other BJP senior leaders skipping the national executive meeting, Naidu said they are not able to attend the meeting due to prior engagements and that there is nothing new in that.

BJP national spokesman Prakash Javdekar said that Advani is not angry about speculation that Modi will be projected as chief of election campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.

Talking to reporters earlier, BJP national vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said chances are that Lok Sabha elections can happen this year, 'so election strategy will be discussed at the BJP national executive meeting in Goa during the three-day event beginning on 7 June'.

Besides election strategy, the agenda will include issues like internal security of the nation, downturn in the economy, corruption, etc. The national executive will also deliberate on the upcoming elections in the six states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Mizoram.

Naqvi too dismissed recent reports of a rift between Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and Lal Krishna Advani.