Modi-fication splits BJP

• Advani, many other senior leaders skip Day 1 Goa conclave
• Rajnath claims Advani is ill
• BJP chief holds talks with RSS top brass who want a decision on Modi
• Party to discuss poll strategy in Goa

Anita Saluja New Delhi: Pressure is mounting on BJP President Rajnath Singh to anoint Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as BJP Campaign Committee Chairman, even as BJP patriarch L K Advani skipped Day One of the BJP Conclave in Goa, citing health reasons, to convey his displeasure over the move to project Modi as the party's campaign face.

Unfazed, Rajnath Singh claimed, "Due to Advaniji's ill-health, I told him not to attend the meet today. He will reach Goa tomorrow (Saturday)." Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, an ardent supporter of Advani, did turn up, but arrived an hour late for the BJP Central Office-Bearers meeting. With NaMo chant growing louder, a vertical split in the party was in evidence, between pro-Modi and anti-Modi camps.

Rajnath Singh held talks with RSS top-brass, who want a decision on Modi's elevation during the BJP conclave, despite the opposition from the Advani-led faction. Rajnath Singh is holding parleys with all the senior leaders to hammer out a consensus on making Modi the party's campaign face.

Though Modi has been made the member of BJP Parliamentary Board, pressure is growing for entrusting him with greater responsibility, like BJP Campaign Committee Chairman. Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar openly batted for him, saying the party can significantly increase its vote share by projecting Modi.

At the BJP conclave in Goa, the party will brainstorm on the election strategy for the upcoming round of Assembly elections in five States and the contemporary political situation and what needs to be done next. It is in this context that the BJP would like to bring Modi on to the party's centre stage.

The BJP never had it so bad, with senior leaders not caring to hide their disgruntlement about the possible elevation of Modi. Advani, who built up the BJP from a party with a tally of 2 MPs in 1984 and brought it to power finally in 1998, is sulking, unable to have his way in that very same party.

Leaders owing allegiance to Advani all fell ill and stayed away from the party conclave. These included BJP Vice-President Uma Bharati, who openly batted for Advani, former Shipping Minister Shatrughan Sinha and former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh.

"I am not going to the meet. I am going to hospital. Why does one go to hospital," asked Jaswant Singh. Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha has taken the position that the issue of Modi's elevation should be decided by BJP Parliamentary Board. The BJP National Executive is too large and unwieldy body and is not the proper forum to discuss the issue, he said. The Advani-led faction is making a determined bid to resist the elevation of Modi.

Advani had gone public with his campaign to checkmate Modi. At the Madhya Pradesh BJP State Executive meeting, Advani openly suggested that the economic turnaround in Gujarat, often brandished with fanfare by Modi, is not as significant as the turnaround achieved in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, which are listed as 'bimaru' States.

Advani also tried to pitch for two party poll panels, one for the upcoming round of Assembly elections and the other for the General Election in 2014, but it did not find favour with the party president.