Modi arrives in Goa, Advani to skip 1st day
PTI, NEW DELHI | 07 June 2013 13:24 IST
BJP leader LK Advani will skip the meeting of party office-bearers in Goa on Friday due to ill health.
85-year-old Advani will not be attending today's meeting as he is unwell, party sources said
This, even as Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Panaji to attend the meet.
However, he will be attending the party National Executive on Saturday and Sunday in Goa.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's role in the next Lok Sabha election is expected to be the dominant theme of the BJP National Executive, amid a strong demand from some sections of the party for declaring him the campaign committee head.
Ahead of the two-day conclave, Central office-bearers of the party will meet to discuss the agenda for the National Executive meet.
Sources said some of the office-bearers are likely to press for declaring Modi as the campaign committee head during the conclave.
But, a consensus on the issue is eluding the party top brass. As a result, the proposal may not see the light of day at the National Executive meet.
"There is expectation among the cadre that BJP president Rajnath Singh will give out a clear message to the party at the Goa conclave. He has been working on it and is in consultation with BJP top brass and members of Parliamentary Board prior to the conclave," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy had said when asked about the issue.
Asked if decks have been cleared for Modi to be announced as the campaign committee chief, Rudy had said that nothing has been firmed up yet. He refused to comment further on it.
However, sources said Singh is still in consultation with the top leadership on the issue.
Several top leaders of the party are, however, likely to skip the national executive. vice president Uma Bharti, general secretary Varun Gandhi, Deputy Leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad, Jaswant Singh and Shatrughan Sinha are not likely to attend, party sources said.
While Bharati is unwell after a long tour for her Save Ganga project, Gandhi is away in Paris with his wife to spend some time after the demise of his new born child. Prasad is leading a delegation to Sri Lanka.
