New Delhi: In a sign that the split between the pro and anti Modi camps in the saffron party was growing ever more acrimonious, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani on Monday placed his party's chosen one – prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, in the same league as two other BJP chief ministers, Shivraj Singh Chouhan of MP and Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh.
Addressing his first rally for the 2014 election, in Shevgaon, Maharashtra on April Fool's Day, he said the Gujarat chief minister was not the only one to have scored a hat-trick of electoral wins. “Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Raman Singh have also been elected thrice like him,” said Mr Advani, who, upset over not being named in the first list of candidates had initially refused to contest from Gandhinagar in Gujarat, saying he preferred Bhopal.
His comment came a day after Uma Bharti’s remark that party patriarch Atal Behari Vajpayee was a better orator than Modi. In her clarification on Tuesday Bharti ruffled more feathers as she undercut Modi's USP – his speeches – with the BJP leadership showcasing the "massive gathering" at Mr Modi's rallies to drive home the point that he is the most popular leader.
It was Mr Advani who eased Ms Bharti's reinduction in the saffron fold over opposition from within the party. A senior saffron leader predicted that once the polls were over, the real battle for power and control would unfold. "Things will erupt after the polls," he said.
BJP faultlines came to the fore after Advani's rebellion, senior leader M.M. Joshi remaining miffed over his parliamentary constituency Varanasi being allotted to Mr Modi, and Jaswant Singh expelled for filing nomination as an independent candidate. Others like Lalji Tandon, Kailash Joshi, Subhash Maharia, Haren Pathak, Surya Pratap Shahi, Vinay Katiyar are miffed over being sidelined.
