NaMo chant gets louder as Advani marks his absence
8 Jun 2013 6:18 AM IST
There are indications that those drawing directions from the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) namely the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh and his predecessor Nitin Gadkari may have decided to back the candidature of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as the head of the poll campaign committee of the party. The support from the RSS faction comes despite the reservations expressed by party veteran Lal Krishna Advani.
However, among the delegates to the national executive there seemed to be a groundswell of support for Modi with middle-level leaders tom-tomming the line that ‘Modi was the most popular leader of the party’. There are indications that Modi supporters may try to clinch the deal in the open house of the national executive if Advani continues to remain stubborn on the matter.
The absence of Advani at the deliberation of office-bearers held at Mariott Hotel, Miramar, here in Goa, on the eve of the meeting of the National Executive of the party may at best delay the announcement. Advani did not arrive in Panaji on Friday on account of being ill.
Known Advani follower and former union minister Shatrughan Sinha too reported sick, so did former MP chief minister Uma Bharti. The Bollywood actor was vociferous in demanding removal of Nitin Gadkari as party president, apparently at the behest of Advani. Other Advani camp followers like former union ministers Yashwant Sinha and Jaswant Singh too did not arrive in Goa on Friday.
Another Advani supporter, Sushma Swaraj, the leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, arrived late in the afternoon just ahead of the deliberations. However, party sources said that their absence on day one may just be a tactical move and they could be present at the meeting of the national executive on Saturday, which is a larger body where the entire party leadership is present but this body is not empowered to take a decision on the appointment of head of poll committee, which rests with the party’s parliamentary board.
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