Divided BJP yet to anoint Modi

In a bid to overcome the resentment against Modi’s name, BJP president Rajnath Singh met senior BJP leader LK Advani on Wednesday. The BJP president had a 30-minute meeting at Advani’s residence in the afternoon on the issue. However, sources say that Advani remained unmoved and was adamant that Modi should be declared as the prime ministerial candidate only after the assembly elections in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh which are scheduled later this year. 

In a bid avoid confrontation in the parliamentary board, BJP president also met BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi late in the evening for 45 minutes. However, sources say there wasn’t much that was achieved in the meeting. Sources added that Joshi has asked theBJP president to consult chief ministers of poll-bound states before declaring Modi as the prime ministerial candidate. The BJP president is also expected to meet Sushma Swaraj on the issue as she is also opposed to Modi being anointed.

‘A decision on the issue will be taken by the Parliamentary Board with as much consensus as possible,’ said BJP spokesperson Sudanshu Trivedi, when asked if all members are on board on Modi. Sources said that the BJP parliamentary board meeting will not be held on 13 September as no formal decision on a date has been taken yet.

Meanwhile, general secretary (organisation) Ramlal, who is the RSS pointsman in BJP, has been given the task of finding a suitable date before 19 September when the Parliamentary Board members are in the capital so that a meeting can be held. A senior BJP leader said that after a consensus evolves, the parliamentary board would be called at short notice.

It is also learnt that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagawat has made it clear that the declaration should only be made after a consensus has evolved among all the parliamentary board members. There are reports that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat may meet Modi in Gandhinagar on Thursday to discuss this issue.

In fact, former BJP president Nitin Gadkari had met Advani on Tuesday at his residence in order to convince him on Modi’s name and agree to a date for convening a meeting of the Parliamentary Board before 17 September.  After the meeting, Gadkari left for Nagpur to convey Advani’s opinion to RSS.