Miffed Advani to skip public rally

Believed upset over appointment of Sanjay Joshi to handle polls in UP, induction of Kushwah

Cracks have surfaced within the BJP after the party veteran and former deputy prime minister LK Advani has taken a decision not to attend public meeting organised in the evening at south central Mumbai. Advani, who skipped the deliberations on Thursday evening when the resolution to amend party's constitution was passed by voice vote paving way for Nitin Gadkari to continue to be the party president for for another three year, is believed to be quite unhappy over the party's present state of affairs and the party's mishandling of the Karnataka episode in the wake of former chief minister BS Yeddurappa's repeated threat for reinstatement.

BJP executive member confirmed that 84-year old Advani would leave for New Delhi immediately after the meeting is over after the lunch. Advani has been quite upset over Gadkari's recent goof ups over the appointment of RSS pracharak Sanjay Joshi to handle party's election in Uttar Pradesh. Besides, Gadkari's approval to induct BSP's former minister Babu Singh Kushwah created controveersy ahead of recently concluded Uttar Pradesh elections. Kushwah was subsequently arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).  Further, Gadkari had to change his decision after the controversy erupted over party's support to independent candidate Anshuman Mishra in the recently held Rajya Sabha elections.

BJP leader told Business Standard " BJP leaders Sangha Priya Gautam and RN Jain wanted to speak on the resolution moved to amend the party's amednment on Thursday evening. However, former party president Rajnath Singh assured that discussion can place later but called for the passage of the resolution. Advani was not present when this resolution was passed."  However, he informed that senior leaders including Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, party chief ministers Narendra Modi, Sadanand Gowda, Shivraj Chouhan and Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi would attend today's public rally. Party leaders are expected to fire salvo against the UPA government on the hefty hike in petrol prices, rising inflation, sliding rupee against dollar and present agrarian crisis.

Advani's reluctance to attend the rally has once again revealed that the top leadership of the party in not united. The national executive meet had already been dogged by controversies even before top leaders got together in Mumbai.

In a show of strength vis-a-vis the party President, the Gujarat Chief Minister on Thursday had forced the resignation of his critic Sanjay Joshi from BJP national executive, as an apparent price for his participation in the meet.

Yeddyurappa has come out in support of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and said that he should be the party's prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.