The absence of senior BJP leader L. K. Advani has cast a shadow on the much-publicised national executive of the party at Panaji.
Although a section within the party was expecting Modi’s name to be announced as the chairman of the party’s campaign panel for the next general elections, Advani’s absence may further delay the setting up of such a panel even after the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh had reportedly agreed to such a proposal.
Though the party has been denying talks of any internal rift, Advani apparently has not been keen to project any one particular person to the top post. He has been critical of the BJP’s strategies to counter the Congress. The BJP veteran has been maintaining that it needs to hold protests at the grassroots to regain the confidence of the people. Advani had recently praised Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for his “performance” in the State.
Meanwhile, the infighting within the party has spilled over to the street with a group of activists marching to Advani’s house here on Saturday demanding that he should not block the ascent of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The protestors also wanted that Modi be immediately declared the prime ministerial candidate of the party.
Rajnath’s message
Advani, for the first time, skipped the national executive meeting of the BJP at Panaji citing ill health. Modi’s supporters, though, were unwilling to believe that he gave it a miss due to health reasons.
In Panaji, party president Rajnath Singh said, to reinstate public confidence in the system, a drastic change is required in the entire system, and not just a change of Government. “We in the BJP, with our vision, capability and experience, are committed to that goal. And if we get voted to power, we will prove it,” he said in his inaugural speech.
Singh also urged the party cadre to prepare for the Assembly elections due in four States and for the next Lok Sabha elections. He directed each state unit to complete the constitution of booth committees at the earliest. “If booth committees are firmly in place in all the States then the BJP’s victory in the election is assured,” he claimed.