New Delhi: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi met Bharatiya Janata Party patriarch LK Advani on Wednesday, shortly after a meeting with the party president Rajnath Singh in the national capital on Wednesday amidst a sharp divide within the party on whether he should head the BJP's 2014 election campaign committee.
Rajnath congratulated Modi over BJP's victory in all six seats in the Gujarat by-polls on Wednesday.
The party's leadership crisis has taken another twist after senior leader LK Advani put a rider on making Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi the campaign committee chief for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He wants the BJP to form a parallel committee for the assembly elections later this year.
Sources say that Advani has told BJP President Rajnath Singh that both the committees be formed together. One poll campaign committee headed by Modi for 2014 general polls and one election management committee for five state assembly polls later this year.
Sources say former BJP chief Nitin Gadkari's name was proposed for the second committee but he declined to take the offer. Now the question is as to who will head the second committee as Advani is insisting on the formation of the two committees simultaneously.
It looks like the BJP leaders remain divided over Narendra Modi with Arun Jaitley stating that Modi is the most popular leader of the party. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Jaitley said that a national role for Modi will be decided when it's time.
"I can only tell you that the ground level support for Mr Modi in the country and within the party is huge and everybody acknowledges that," Jaitley said. Sources have also told CNN-IBN that BJP President Rajnath Singh is now attempting to build a consensus on appointing Modi as the Chairman of the Campaign Committee for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and an announcement is likley at the national executive in Goa.
When asked about reports saying Advani called Modi arrogant and praised Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Jaitley said, "I don't think Mr Advani ever said that Mr Modi is arrogant. I think the problem is with analysing Mr Advani's statements. If he goes to MP and compliments the CM for the good things he has done the media would like to see it as contra-distinction to somebody, in the same speech he has also said nice things about Gujarat's development."
On a question about Advani's PM ambitions, Jaitley said, "He is a very senior person in the party and has been a kind of guide to the party all these years. He is among the two senior leaders who guided the party and brought us into power and therefore, his contribution to the party can never be understated. Now today if he writes or speaks, we listen with rapt attention every word he speaks. I think it's unfair to start imputing motives to that comments when he makes them, he is expected to be frank with the party and that's the style he has adopted over the years."
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