Modi may skip BJP meet after rift with Advani

New Delhi: The National Executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is slated to kick off in New Delhi on Friday.

However, the centrestage has been captured by the crack between two big names within the party – veteran leader Lal Krishna Advani and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi is all set to give the meet a miss, after Advani skipped his two-decade old ritual of visiting the Somnath temple in Gujarat every year on September 25 to mark the Ram Rath Yatra of 1990.

Sources close to Modi say that the reason he may miss the party's meet is the Navratri fast. However, efforts are on to convince Modi to attend the BJP conclave.

"We are expecting Narendra Modi at the meet, but there are some issues regarding Navratri," said BJP president Nitin Gadkari.

Post the perceived reprieve by the Supreme Court, Modi's grand standing has not gone done well within sections of the party. Modi's fast earlier in September eclipsed Advani's proposed anti-graft Rath Yatra against corruption.

The Yatra that was scheduled to start earlier from Karamsad in Gujarat will now begin in Bihar, and will be flagged off by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on October 11.

The BJP has however maintained that Advani's campaign is not for the 2014 Prime Ministerial race, but against corruption.
"The Yatra is not linked with prime ministership. It is aimed at clean politics and good governance. The party will support it fully and contribute to making it a success," said Gadkari at a press conference on Thursday.