New Delhi: In the saffron camp, skirmishes between the “old school” and the GenNext continue unabated. After Uma Bharti’s remark that patriarch Atal Behari Vajpayee was a better orator than the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi ruffled quite a few feathers, sources said the divide between the Advani and Modi groups appears complete.
“Things are being brushed under the carpet now, but will erupt again after the polls,” a senior saffron leader said. The BJP’s fault lines became evident after L.K. Advani refused to contest from Gandhinagar. Though he finally relented, the Opposition was quick to use this to target Mr Modi.
If senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi was miffed over his parliamentary constituency Varanasi being allotted to Mr Modi, Jaswant Singh was expelled for going against the party’s decision and filing nomination as an independent candidate. After his expulsion, Mr Singh attacked Mr Modi and BJP campaign the centered around him.
Mr Singh was expelled from the party earlier also over his controversial book praising Pakistan founder M.A. Jinnah.
Mr Singh is considered close to Mr Advani who had opposed Mr Modi’s elevation in the party. It was Mr Advani who had eased Uma Bharti’s reinduction in the saffron fold as there was opposition from majority. Many other senior leaders were also sidelined.
Smriti Irani sorry for remarks on Modi
New Delhi: Ten years after slamming Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for 2002 post-Godhra riots, BJP leader and actor Smriti Irani has confessed in a TV interview that her comments were “uncharitable” and thanked the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate for “giving her a chance”.
“I was extremely uncharitable in making comments against Narendra Modi. I withdrew my earlier statements about him. It is extremely generous of him to give me a chance,” she said.
Ms Irani will contest against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi. Taking a jibe at him, Ms Irani said, “People of Amethi have been denied development despite Congress being in power for 10 years.” Kumar Vishwas is AAP’s candidate for the seat. - Agencies
