BJP veteran lK Advani on Friday made a significant visit to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur and claimed his meeting with Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat would be “very positive” for the party and the national polity. This was the second meeting between the two top leaders in less than a month.
RSS sources claimed Advani discussed “party matters” and national politics with Bhagwat. “This discussion will help us change the national polity considering that assembly elections are being held in five-six States and lok Sabha polls are also taking place. We will bring about change and take the nation in the right direction,” Advani said after his meeting with Bhagwat where another senior RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi was also present. “My visit to Nagpur will be very positive for the BJP and the country,” he added.
This was Advani’s first interaction with the media since he revolted against the appointment of Modi as the BJP’s Election Campaign Committee Chairman on June 10. He had resigned from all party posts but Bhagwat had intervened to make him reconsider his decision.
Subsequently, Advani met Bhagwat in Delhi during which he was assured that RSS will hold regular consultations with him on the affairs of the party. He said that his meeting was in the context of that assurance and that he had a “good discussion” with Bhagwat.
Advani said he may be a member of the BJP but ideologically he was associated with the Sangh Parivar since the age of 14 years. “There will be continuous discourse between us,” he added. Bhagwat had met senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Thursday. Bhagwat and Joshi will also meet BJP chief Rajnath Singh on Saturday. These meeting comes ahead o the July 10 meeting RSS executive body in Amravati on July 10. This meeting is expected to take some BJP-specific decisions.
“The RSS wants the BJP to put up a united face. The meeting between senior BJP and RSS leaders in Nagpur also reveals that the Sangh will be actively involved in putting the BJP’s house in order,” a senior BJP leader said.
BJP to join hands with SwamyIJ
BJP Parliamentary board’s meeting on Monday is likely to discuss Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy’s proposal to merge
his outfit with the principal Opposition.
BJP’s campaign committee head Narendra Modi is believed to have referred to the pending issue of Janata Party’s merger with the BJP during the party’s parliamentary board meeting on Thursday. BJP chief Rajnath Singh is believed to have deferred a discussion on the subject in the absence of his predecessor Nitin Gadkari, who is abroad.
At least four members of the Parliamentary Board are believed to be in favour of Swamy’s proposal. Those opposed to Swamy’s entry into BJP feel his “style of politics” might frequently cause trouble for the party.
“His association with NDA gives BJP the leverage to dissociate itself from any uncomfortable position taken by him (Swamy). Once he is in BJP, the party will lose that advantage,” a senior BJP leader told The Pioneer.