Uma reaches out to Sushma

Firebrand Sanyasin Uma Bharati had a tough time in gaining re-entry into the BJP. Reason was that she met with stiff resistance from Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and her lieutenant , Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. It was only when safeguards were worked out that Uma Bharati will keep off Madhya Pradesh and will concentrate only on Uttar Pradesh that she finally managed to gain entry into the BJP. Significantly, during the recent Madhya Pradesh BJP Executive in Gwalior, in which BJP veteran L K Advani rated Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan more than Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Grapevine has it that Uma Bharati is now reaching out to Sushma Swaraj and mend fences with her. Uma feels that Sushma Swaraj is an important power-centre and it is important to ally with her. During the recent political crisis in the BJP, when Advani quit key party posts, Uma Bharati, who has been a prot�g� of Advani, reached out to Sushma Swaraj and met her. Uma also made it a point to make laudatory references, clearly seeking to build bridges with Sushma to fortify her own position in the party.