Missing out

When Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Chief Mohan Bhagwat spoke to L K Advani much before the National Executive meet in Goa, the senior pracharak had no inkling of what the senior most Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader had in mind. On the first day of the meet, when some senior leaders were boarding the aircraft of a private airline, they were surprised to discover that the seat booked for Advani was empty. On reaching Goa, all BJP leaders were given rooms on the third floor of a five-star hotel. They were surprised again to discover that Advani's room had not been occupied. "L K Advani might have been genuinely unwell, and that's why he didn't come to the National Executive meet. But the message that has gone out is that he was upset with the elevation of Narendra Modi. A private jet was on hold to bring him to Goa," said a senior BJP leader.