Advani, Modi to share dais at MP rally
After being isolated and eclipsed, BJP patriarch L.K. Advani apparently threw in the towel by agreeing to share the dais with the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at an election rally in Bhopal on September 25.
While some described it as Mr Advani’s “surrender”, others viewed it as a “tactical retreat to live to fight another day”. Another section claimed that Mr Advani had no way out but to go since it is the home turf of his “latest blue-eyed boy” — Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
It was BJP chief Rajnath Singh who declared that Mr Advani would share the dais with Mr Modi. “All the party leaders will be there. You will find both,” Mr Singh said in Mumbai.
However, isolated within the organisation, the sulking patriarch displayed his anger to the leaders who called on him on Saturday. One of his close aides revealed that Mr Advani, who had been licking his wounds following the anointment of Mr Modi, told some BJP leaders: “If you are asked to bend, you start crawling.” At the same time, Mr Advani apparently indicated that he would not yet quit. “Main kahin nahi ja raha hun. Abhi bahut lamba rasta tai karna hai (I am not going anywhere. We have miles to go).” Despite these signals, nobody in the organisation is sure about Mr Advani’s next move, if there is any.
On Saturday, core members of the A-team — Sushma Swaraj, Ananth Kumar and Balbir Punj — met Mr Advani. Senior leader Ravi Shankar Prasad also met him. Speaking in Mumbai, the BJP chief claimed that Mr Advani was the party’s “leader, guardian and mentor” and he never said that Mr Modi should not be made the PM candidate. He also said that Mr Advani has every right to scold or admonish any party leader if he sees any shortcomings, when asked about Mr Advani’s scathing letter to him on Friday after Mr Modi’s elevation to PM candidate.
Mr Singh said: “Advani continues to be our leader, guardian and mentor.
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