Top BJP leaders skip Maha meet

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Senior BJP leaders L.K. Advani, Arun Jaitley, Gopinath Munde and Rajnath Singh chose to skip the BJP convention held at Utan, near Mumbai. This was the first major event in Maharashtra after Mr Nitin Gadkari took over as party chief and the absence of most senior leaders brings into the forefront the massive friction and infighting that

the Opposition party is grappling with. However, BJP leaders, who were present at the convention played down their absence and said that it was not the indication of conflict within the party.
As per the original schedule of the convention that concluded on Sunday, the senior leaders were supposed to attend the event. Convenor of the convention and former chief minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar, said that Mr Advani and Mr Jaitley were “among the very few dignitaries who could not attend the convention”.
“We had invited around 40 leaders. Only three to four of them could not attend, which is a small number. Everyone cannot make adjustments. Also the venue was convenient for everyone. I don’t see any political reason behind the absence of few leaders,” Mr Parrikar said.
Ironically, within an hour after the conclusion of the convention, former BJP president Rajnath Singh attended a notebook distribution function organised by Kirit Somaiya at Mulund in Mumbai.
Ms Sushma Swaraj was roped in at the last minute to replace Mr Advani, who was scheduled to make the concluding speech. Speaking about Mr Advani’s absence, Mr Parrikar said that the veteran BJP leader was not feeling well. However, Mr Parrikar immediately clarified that Mr Advani is “not unwell”.
Regarding Mr Jaitley, Mr Parrikar said that he could not come because of personal problems.
The morning session on Sunday was addressed by senior party leaders M. Venkaiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar, among others. Party president Gadkari inaugurated the convention on Saturday.
It was also attended by five chief ministers of the various BJP-ruled states — Narendra Modi, B.S. Yeddyurappa, Prem Kumar Dhumal, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.