It was a late night threat from Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to quit the BJP national executive that forced the party top brass to convince his bete noire Sanjay Joshi to resign from the national executive. Mr Joshi also resigned from the BJP primary membership. Though BJP chief Nitin Gadkari managed to buy peace with Mr Modi, the RSS was so upset with the development that it asked Mr Joshi, an RSS man and a former pracharak, to resign from BJP’s primary membership as well. Sources disclosed Mr Modi, one of the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate, had put the condition before the BJP top brass that if his arch rival Mr Joshi doesn’t quit, he would resign from the national executive. The RSS, it is learnt, has summoned the BJP chief after the two day long meet ends.
The RSS, it is learnt, is enraged that despite its intervention and Mr Gadkari personally stepping in to sort out differences between Mr Modi and the former BJP general secretary, Gujarat CM remained adamant on his demand. Soon after Mr Joshi resigned, the Gujarat CM decided to attend the meet. A chartered plane was kept ready for the Gujarat CM since Thursday morning.
Earlier, some BJP leaders from Gujarat had also threatened to skip the meet to show solidarity with their CM.
It could be recalled that Mr Modi had skipped the last national executive meet as well as campaigning in the recent Assembly polls over Mr Joshi’s induction in the poll management team.
Sources said Mr Modi had deputed his confidant and Rajya Sabha member Purushottam Rupala to support the amendment to the party constitution on his behalf, in case he does not attend the meet.
In a letter to Mr Gadkari, the former RSS pracharak, said he is relinquishing his post in “larger interest” of the party.