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Having established his forte in Gujarat, it is time for the State Chief Minister Narendra Modi, fondly called by his followers as ‘Chhote Sardar’, to spread his wings in national politics.
Although a wily BJP national president Rajnath Singh had dropped him from the BJP Parliamentary Board, this time Modi has succeeded in making his way to the party’s top strategy group that met at the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani’s New Delhi residence to deliberate on the connotations of the saffron brigade’s wins in the recently concluded Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls.
Incidentally, though the BJP is in power in as many as five States, Narendra Modi was the only party Chief Minister to be invited to this august meeting – an indication of his growing clout in the party as well as in national politics.
It is learnt that though Rajnath Singh is yet to give him due importance, by inviting Modi to the informal meet, Advani has made his liking and preference for the Gujarat Chief Minister apparent to all concerned. Hence, it is now clear that henceforth Modi will not only play an important role in BJP’s decision-making, but also be a major campaigner for the party in all electoral battles.
On his part, Modi was humble and told the media that he had come to New Delhi to meet the senior party leaders and discuss the formation of his Cabinet. Apart from meeting Advani, Modi also dropped in to wish Atal Behari Vajpayee and sought his blessings.
Needless to say that party enthusiasts accorded a warm welcome to Modi on his maiden visit to the capital after winning the Gujarat Assembly elections earlier this month.
Among other things, the meeting deliberated on the declining popularity of the party in Rajasthan, Chhatisgarh and Madhya Pradesh where the party is in power.
Leaders pointed out that unless necessary steps are initiated to stem the rot that has set into the organization in these States, it would be difficult for the BJP to perform well there in the next general elections. Among others, the meeting was attended by top BJP leaders including Rajnath Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi, Jaswant Singh, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj.
Meanwhile, back home in Gujarat, former State Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and former Union textiles minister Kashiram Rana, said to be Modi baiters, submitted their respective replies to the show-cause notice issued to them by the BJP leadership alleging that they had worked contrary to the party’s interests during the elections in Gujarat.
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