BJP to meet Sushilkumar Shinde over threats to its top leaders

New Delhi: Amid reports about possible security threats to top BJP leaders, the opposition party on Thursday demanded that the Home Ministry ensure "foolproof" protection for them.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde. PTI

Citing media reports which have quoted intelligence sources as saying that the lives of top BJP leaders were under threat, party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said that a delegation of party leaders will meet Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde to press their demand for security.

"Based on Intelligence Bureau sources, a section of media has been reporting that the BJP leaders' lives are under threat.

"BJP is very concerned and worried," she said, adding that, "there is a threat to all BJP leaders."

"We are very concerned and anxious whether Home Ministry has taken cognisance of these reports and if it is taking any measures to ensure the safety of our leaders as they move around the country for election campaigning," she told reporters in New Delhi.

Sitharaman said that the media reports have said that the threat perception also included kidnapping with a possible motive of demanding release of Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Yasin Bhatkal. Bhatkal is in the custody of security agencies on terror charges.

"With all these dimensions being played out... in the media, all reports based on IB sources, BJP is extremely worried for the safety of its leaders.

"We will certainly meet the Home Minister as and when we get the time from his office... and present the demand that protection and foolproof cover be provided to all our leaders," she added.

PTI

Karunanidhi doubts Lanka’s intention to solve fishermen issue

Chennai: Raising doubt over Sri Lanka's intention to solve fishermen issue, DMK President M Karunanidhi on Thursday slammed the latest incident of arrest of Indian fishermen by the island navy, saying if it wants a solution for the matter it should not indulge in such acts.

Referring to Wednesday's arrest of 75 Indian fishermen by the Lankan navy, Karunanidhi said it was shocking and would not have happened without the Sri Lankan government's knowledge.

"If Sri Lanka really wants a solution to this issue, there is no point in it continuing to resort to such activities. There is a doubt if Sri Lankan government is trying to mislead Government of India and that of Tamil Nadu and the fishermen (here)," he said in a statement.

While talks were scheduled between fishermen associations of both countries, Sri Lanka's action and India "not showing any opposition is condemnable," he said.

First round of talks between fishermen representatives of both countries over fishing rights in Palk Strait were held here in January, while the two sides are slated to meet in Colombo on March 25 to take forward the discussions.

DMK MP TR Baalu sought the intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the release of the arrested fishermen.

"On our request you have also intervened many times and taken steps to negotiate in this regard with the Sri Lankan administration. In spite of all earnest efforts, the harassment of the Sri Lankan Navy continues unabated and the Tamil Nadu fishermen face endless suffering and pain on a day to day basis," he said in a letter to Singh.

"Hence, I request you to use your good office once again to intervene and release the Tamil Nadu fishermen along with their boats and catches immediately," he said in the letter.

PTI

Muzaffarnagar: Won’t allow riot refugees to vote, says accused BJP MLA

Muzaffarnagar: Stoking controversy, BJP Lok Sabha candidate and one of the MLAs booked in Muzaffarnagar riots cases Hukum Singh today said he would oppose riot refugees from voting in his constituency Kairana as they were living "illegally" on government land.

Singh said here that he will not allow "so-called" refugees to be enrolled in the voter list of his constituency Kairana in Shamli district as they were living away from their homes and had encroached upon government land by camping.

Hukum Singh. Ibnlive

"Their names have not been removed from the voter list of their native places," he said, adding, he will not visit any of the riot refugee camps in Kairana for campaign as those staying in them were not voters in the constituency.

More than 7,000 refugees are staying in nine refugee camps in Kairana. These camps are situated in Malakpur, Khurgan, Barnawi, Dabheri, Khurd, Mansoora, Roten, Tisang, Amtikhurd areas of the city.

Singh also reacted sharply to the comment made by former Chief Justice Rajinder Sachar who yesterday termed as "shameful" the act of political parties giving Lok Sabha tickets to Muzaffarnagar riots accused.

The Kairana MLA claimed the remark was "wrong and baseless as there had been no chargesheet filed in court against him in connection with the riots case so far".

Singh, MLA from Kairana, will be contesting for the Lok Sabha elections from the same constituency on BJP ticket.

He was among the 16 politicians and community leaders who were accused of inciting violence through inflammatory speeches in Muzaffarnagar and had been briefly under arrest.

More than 60 persons were killed and over 40,000 displaced in riots that had taken place in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas in September last year.

PTI

Gandhinagar vs Bhopal: Why Modi should give into Advani

There we go again. The Narendra Modi-LK Advani spat is back in full public view, playing itself out across the front pages of the national newspapers. It is tempting to view this latest skirmish as one more instance of a bitter old man throwing yet another tantrum; making one more failed attempt to assert his diminishing status. But this time around, it is Modi and not Advani who stands to lose out.

The BJP's prime ministerial nominee is indeed unassailable in terms of his power within the party. But his public image remains vulnerable to the lingering perceptions of authoritarianism. Modi may find that he has won the Gandhinagar battle only to lose the bigger PR war. It would, in fact, be far wiser to just give the venerable elder of his party whatever he wants. And here's why.

One, standing firm feeds the paranoia.

Reuters

According to news reports, Advani is worried about his electoral prospects in Modi's backyard, as the Telegraph reports:

Some aides had 'convinced' Advani that Madhya Pradesh's capital would be more 'hospitable' than that of Gujarat because of the fear of 'sabotage' by BJP cadres. The party ranks are yet to forget the dissent Advani openly displayed when Modi was declared as the BJP's pick for Prime Minister.

While a Gujarat BJP leader dismisses such fears as unwarranted -- and NaMo makes noises about his heartfelt desire for Advani's victory -- no one can blame the man for being a little worried. After all, politics is one long grudge match.

Even if his fears are misplaced, the one sure way to defuse the paranoia is to allow Advani to run from wherever he wants. The reality is that Advani is no longer a threat, be it in Gandhinagar or Bhopal. Giving an old warhorse that privilege in his twilight years shows grace not weakness.

Two, Advani has the better argument. There is no good reason why Advani has to run from Gandhinagar. The argument put forward by the Modi side -- that such "a move would be projected as fresh evidence of a war between Modi and Advani" -- is absurd since the current face-off is already evidence of the same.

Besides, Advani has a winning point when he points to the blatant double standard that allows Modi and Rajnath Singh to contest from seats of their choice -- evicting senior leaders, if need be -- but denies Advani the same luxury. Bullying Advani into accepting Gandhinagar won't squelch the perception, but rather underline his powerlessness. And no good PR comes of kicking an old man when he is down.

Three, remember that adage about keeping your enemies closer. "The old order has to make way for the new dispensation headed by Modi," a BJP source tells the Telegraph. And that is as it should be. But the old order must also be given due deference, and allowed to a dignified slide into irrelevance. It is foolish -- even dangerous -- to engineer a needless confrontation that pushes Advani into a corner, where he has to choose between his self-respect and losing his Lok Sabha seat.

Reports that "the party is veering towards a 'so-be-it' moment if the octogenarian refused to contest the election" bodes ill for Modi in the weeks ahead if Advani chooses to call his bluff. He is no local Gujarat politico on the outs with the party, but a national leader who commands significant attention both within and outside the BJP. He may not be powerful enough to take Modi down, but there is no doubt that Advani can do serious PR damage from the sidelines. There is no surer guarantee of bad press than a bitter Advani with nothing left to lose, eager to air the party's dirty laundry to anyone who will listen.

Four, be a uniter not a divider. Modi's polarising personality remains the biggest question mark hanging over his prime ministerial ambitions. Even those attracted to his promise of governance worry about his ability to effectively lead a fractious and diverse alliance at the Centre.

The much-publicised overtures to third parties are designed to defuse exactly these worries. But all that coalition-building will come to naught if Modi is unable to keep his own troops together. After all, a man who can't handle dissent within his own party can hardly be expected to muster up the political finesse required to keep far more unruly and powerful allies in line.

In his previous confrontations with Advani, the Gujarat CM had something to prove, i.e. his political supremacy. But now that the same has already been established, beating up on the octogenarian makes him look weak not strong -- and in exactly the areas where he has most to prove.

Paradoxically, "losing" this latest battle will make Modi look more powerful than ever as he plays the gracious victor throwing a bone to his vanquished and increasingly irrelevant enemy.

Modi doesn't need to stoop to conquer Advani. Just bend a wee bit.

How LK Advani is hastening his own fall by seeking the Bhopal seat

For the last one year, ever since the BJP began inexorable moves to make Narendra Modi its mascot for 2014, we have seen only one side to Lal Krishna Advani: the Big Sulk.

The man widely credited with the rise of the BJP in the late 1980s and 1990s has been unable to put personal pique aside in the larger interests of the party. He has repeatedly tried to queer the pitch for Modi's rise instead of being his prime support and cheer-leader.

While at a personal level one can understand Advani's disappointment that he will always remain the BJP's best man and never its groom, surely, at 86 years of age, he cannot seriously harbour any great visions of what the future holds for him.

The latest drama over whether he will fight the Lok Sabha elections from Gandhinagar or Bhopal is further evidence that the BJP's tallest leader is shrinking in stature, and he is the one doing it to himself. Having sought to fight from Gandhinagar as recently as January, he now says he wants to shift to Bhopal – a move that cannot but lead to speculation about his equation with Modi. In order to give Advani space, the party, in fact, moved Modi to Vadodara when it could have chosen Ahmedabad East for him.

Advani should realise that he's no longer the face of the party. Reuters

But Advani remains in sulk. The only thing he will achieve by seeking to contest from Bhopal is sharpening intra-party factionalism by propping up Shivraj Singh Chauhan of Madhya Pradesh against Modi. One can only suspect that Advani is very cut up with Modi, and does not want to be beholden to him for any win from Gandhinagar.

So, this is clearly more about Advani's personal grouse than anything else for Modi has not done anything overtly to undercut him.

However, one cannot rule out an underlying battle of egos here: having been Modi's mentor and backer all through till last year, Advani may be expecting more reverence and more payback from Modi. But Modi's personality is not the type to kowtow and self-efface. In fact, there is good reason to presume that he has a strong ego of his own – and may not be willing to make the first move to placate Advani.

But beyond this obvious clash of egos, one cannot but lay the fault more at Advani's door. For several reasons.

First, if he is not in contention for power, he ought to have accepted this reality and played statesman and mentor to whoever the party anointed as its prime ministerial candidate. But Advani thinks he should play favourites: he has thus been using proxies like Sushma Swaraj and Shivraj Singh Chauhan to stem the Modi tide.

Second, even assuming his personal equation with Modi is not good, it does not automatically follow that he must play spoiler to Modi's growth plans. Modi's rise is due to the groundswell of support in his favour among the party's grassroots. Just as Advani was BJP's man of destiny in the 1990s, today it is Modi. Advani's inability to accept this shift in equations is what is at the root of his rift with Modi.

Third, outside a dynasty, power is not conferred from above. It comes from one's ability and track record. Advani's mistake is to believe that Modi's rise was due to his support – which was crucial at critical points in Modi's career - when the reality is that Modi's current popularity is purely the result of his own efforts. History shows that power is usually not the result of charity from above – and former mentors usually have a falling out with their protégés at some point (eg: Kamaraj with Indira Gandhi, NTR and Chandrababu Naidu, Pranab Mukherjee and Mamata Banerjee). Mentors have to ultimately give space to their mentees and move into the background. Else, they lose their moral standing.

Advani, unfortunately, has taken the diminution in his power with poor grace. In June last year, when the party looked set to make Modi the campaign committee chief, he sent in his papers and ranted against unnamed persons who were "concerned just with their personal agendas."

In September, when the party wanted to officially nominate Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, Advani & Co tried to stall it by saying the party should wait till after the assembly elections.  The RSS and the BJP clearly saw through this ruse, for had the party waited, and the BJP had won three states, Advani would have pushed the candidacy of Chouhan – and put the party in a quandary. The party did right to squash Advani's efforts to create a rift before the Lok Sabha elections.

In January, he squelched talk of going to the Rajya Sabha, making it clear that he wanted to fight the Lok Sabha elections. He had said then: "I have not said anything (about going to RS) and if somebody offers me this suggestion I will think about it. But it is natural, I think, that if I had to consider it I would have done it earlier."

Now that the party says he can fight from Gandhinagar, he wants to go to Bhopal.

Whichever way this controversy ends, one thing should be clear to everybody: Advani is a bitter man and uncomfortable with his own growing irrelevance. He ought to have accepted his reduced relevance with grace; he is choosing to play sourpuss instead.

In the process, he is hastening the arrival of his own irrelevance. Everyone knows that he is not the key to the BJP's future any more. All that's left is a strong memory of the man who built the party and is now playing party pooper.

BJP ignores criticism, gives tickets to 2 Muzaffarnagar riots accused

Seems like the BJP has decided to take the audacity route while countering accusations regarding the party's involvement in Muzaffarnagar riots.  As if denying that the party was no way involved in sparking the riots or the act of rioting wasn't enough, BJP went ahead and felicitated two MLAs who were held for rioting. Sangeet Som, who is accused of uploading a video on his Facebook page that sparked the riots was gifted a pagdi and flowers on a stage set for a Narendra Modi rally in Uttar Pradesh. Now the party has taken a step ahead and given tickets to two leaders named in the Muzaffarnagar riots FIRs.

Muzaffarnagar riot victims. Reuters.

The Indian Express reports: "Hukum Singh and Sanjeev Baliyan, declared candidates by the party in the riot-hit areas of Kairana and Muzaffarnagar respectively, were part of a mahapanchayat in September which was held despite prohibitory orders and inflamed tensions." 

Singh an MLA from Kairana will now contest the Lok Sabha polls and Rana, a sitting MP from Muzaffarnagar, will contest from the same constituency. Singh and Rana figured in the list of 16 political personalities and community leaders who were accused of sparking violence.

Zee News reports that former chief justice of India, Rajinder Sachar has called BJP's move shameful. "This is shameful and unfortunate. People who have been prosecuted have been put up to fight Lok Sabha elections. This shows the psychology (of the parties)," Sachar said.

Read the complete The Indian Express report here.

 

Live: Advani is seniormost leader, we look up to him, says BJP

12:45 pm: No problems, says BJP

The BJP is expectedly putting a brave face and said that there were no differences in the party over tickets being handed out.

Party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said that there were "only discussions" taking place in the party and there were no differences, contrary to what reports said.

"Advaniji is our seniormost leader in the party. We look up to him and there are no differences," she said.

12:30 pm: Jaswant Singh takes up cudgels, threatens to contest as independent

Jaswant Singh has also been among the leaders who has been unhappy with the seat being given to him and has now reportedly given an ultimatum to the party. Singh, currently a MP from Darjeeling, has refused to go back to his constituency for re-election.

According to a CNN-IBN report, Singh has told the party top brass that he wanted a ticket from Rajasthan failing which he would contest as an independent candidate.

A senior leader, who was briefly ejected from the party, Singh may not be one of the biggest names in the party any more, but will the BJP come down with an iron hand on one of its senior leaders? It would definitely give the Congress something to go to town with.

12.23 pm: RSS asks Advani to respect party decision

The RSS has reportedly asked LK Advani to respect the party decision that he contest from Gandhinagar, which all but finalises the fact that the leadership will not accede to the senior leaders request that he be allowed to contest from Bhopal.

Arun Jaitley is now reportedly at the party patriarch's house in an attempt to convince him to accept the party leadership's decision.

10.32 am: Modi fails to convince Advani, Sushma's turn to try

By all accounts, Narendra Modi's meeting with Advani has failed to cut any ice with the party patriarch. So Sushma Swaraj has been dispatched to his residence in an effort to placate him further. This is Swaraj's second meeting with Advani. In a bid to placate him over the party's decision, Swaraj had met the senior BJP last night.

Venkiah Naidu has also reached Advani's residence.

Political analysts say that despite this entire placation excercise, it is very unlikely that Advani will get to contest from Bhopal, as it has been made abundantly clear that no matter what the stature of party leaders, that they will have to abide by the decisions of the party and its central elections committee.

Modi leaving Advani's residence: PTI

Modi was at Advani's residence for about half-an-hour apparently to persuade him to contest from Gandhinagar, which he has represented for five times in Lok Sabha.

Though it is not clear as to what transpired at the meeting, sources said Advani is adamant on contesting from Bhopal, saying that he be given a chance to exercise his option to select his seat just as other top party leaders like Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Modi.

10.22 am: Modi fails to convince Advani to contest from Gandhinagar?

Though no official word has come out of what transpired during the meeting, reports are now claiming that Advani is sticking to his stand that he would prefer to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Bhopal and not Gandhinagar.

9.55 am: Modi requests Advani to contest from Gandhinagar?

The latest report coming in from the Modi- Advani meeting, is that the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate has requested Advani to contest from Gandhinagar and not Bhopal as he wanted.

However according to television reports, the senior leader is 'adamant' that he wants to contest from Bhopal.

More details as we get them.

9.32 am: Advani tells BJP that both Rajnath, Modi got to choose seats 

A very miffed LK Advani has reportedly told the BJP that both Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh got to choose their seats, and that the same courtesy was not extended to him.

Advani had reportedly said that he made it very clear that Bhopal had been his preferred constituency. He had reportedly said that he felt as though the candidature from Gandhinagar had been thrust upon him.

The BJP patriarch is currently in a meeting with the party prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi.

9.00 am: Modi visits Advani following Gandhinagar ticket storm

BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has reached veteran leader LK Advani's home in an attempt to defuse the situation that has arisen following his displeasiure over being asked to contest from Gandhinagar.

Advani had left the final decision on his candidature to BJP President Rajnath Singh, but had expressed his desire to contest from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and not from Gujarat.

PTI

Modi's meeting with the veteran leader comes on the back of hour long meetings with Sushma Swaraj and former president Nitin Gadkari.

Advani had reportedly said that he would take a final decision on contesting only after the candidate for Bhopal is declared.

8.30 am: Will Advani refuse to contest from Gandhinagar?

The BJP is now faced with the rather awkward possibility that its veteran leader LK Advani could refuse to contest from Gandhinagar, as decided by the BJP Central Election Committee.

Hectic discussions preceded the decision on Advani at the day-long meeting of the BJP Central Election Committee from which the 86-year-old party patriarch kept away, citing reasons that he did not want to be part of confabulations involving his constituency.

Advani had conveyed to party president Rajnath Singh that he wanted to shift to Bhopal from Gandhinagar which he has represented five times in the Lok Sabha.

Late last night, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari went to his residence in a bid to persuade him to accept Gandhinagar. Advani had insisted that he should have the right to choose his constituency like many other leaders who have been allocated their preferred seats, sources said.

Ever since the elevation of Modi in the party hierarchy, Advani has been sulking and his desire to shift from Gandhinagar is seen as a reflection of the unease in his relationship with Modi.

Muzaffarnagar riots accused get BJP tickets

Seems like the BJP has decided to take the audacity route while countering accusations regarding the party's involvement in Muzaffarnagar riots.  As if denying that the party was no way involved in sparking the riots or the act of rioting wasn't enough, BJP went ahead and felicitated two MLAs who were held for rioting. Sangeet Som, who is accused of uploading a video on his Facebook page that sparked the riots was gifted a pagdi and flowers on a stage set for a Narendra Modi rally in Uttar Pradesh. Now the party has taken a step ahead and given tickets to two leaders named in the Muzaffarnagar riots FIRs.

Muzaffarnagar riot victims. Reuters.

The Indian Express reports: "Hukum Singh and Sanjeev Baliyan, declared candidates by the party in the riot-hit areas of Kairana and Muzaffarnagar respectively, were part of a mahapanchayat in September which was held despite prohibitory orders and inflamed tensions." 

Singh an MLA from Kairana will now contest the Lok Sabha polls and Rana, a sitting MP from Muzaffarnagar, will contest from the same constituency. Singh and Rana figured in the list of 16 political personalities and community leaders who were accused of sparking violence.

Zee News reports that former chief justice of India, Rajinder Sachar has called BJP's move shameful. "This is shameful and unfortunate. People who have been prosecuted have been put up to fight Lok Sabha elections. This shows the psychology (of the parties)," Sachar said.

Read the complete The Indian Express report here.

 

Accused in Muzaffarnagar riots, MLA says no voting for victims

Muzaffarnagar: Stoking controversy, BJP Lok Sabha candidate and one of the MLAs booked in

A Muzaffarnagar riot victim. AFP.

riots cases Hukum Singh said on Thursday that he would oppose riot refugees from voting in his constituency Kairana as they were living "illegally" on government land.

Singh said here that he will not allow "so-called" refugees to be enrolled in the voter list of his constituency Kairana in Shamli district as they were living away from their homes and had encroached upon government land by camping.

 

"Their names have not been removed from the voter list  of their native places," he said, adding, he will not visit any of the riot refugee camps in Kairana for campaign as those staying in them were not voters in the constituency.

More than 7,000 refugees are staying in nine refugee camps in Kairana. These camps are situated in Malakpur, Khurgan, Barnawi, Dabheri, Khurd, Mansoora, Roten, Tisang, Amtikhurd areas of the city.

Singh also reacted sharply to the comment made by former Chief Justice Rajinder Sachar who had termed the act of political parties giving Lok Sabha tickets to Muzaffarnagar riots accused "shameful".

The Kairana MLA claimed the remark was "wrong and baseless as there had been no chargesheet filed in court against him in connection with the riots case so far".

Singh, MLA from Kairana, will be contesting for the Lok Sabha elections from the same constituency on BJP ticket.

He was among the 16 politicians and community leaders who were accused of inciting violence through inflammatory speeches in Muzaffarnagar and had been briefly under arrest.

More than 60 persons were killed and over 40,000 displaced in riots that had taken place in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas in September last year.

PTI

Opposition only represents rich of country, says Rahul Gandhi

Tanda (HP): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today termed the Lok Sabha elections as a "battle of thoughts", saying while the Congress stood for empowering the people, the opposition represented only the rich in the
country.

In a meeting with ex-servicemen, the Congress Vice President said he would make whole-hearted attempts to fulfil the demands of the veterans including representation for the armed forces in the central pay commission.

"The election is a battle of thoughts in India. On one hand, there is Congress which feels that power should be in each and every hand and that is how the country can be powerful.

Rahul Gandhi is on a nationwide tour. PTI

"On the other side, the opposition thinks that the country can be run by only powerful and rich and they have no place for the poor in their ideas," Gandhi said, without naming the BJP.

Addressing the veterans, he said he agreed with the view that there is a divide between the armed forces and the bureaucracy, saying, "I could feel this divide during the One Rank One Pension issue."

He stressed that at times he would be able to meet the demands of ex-servicemen, but sometimes he would not be able to do so.

"I cannot make big promises but my intentions are very clean. I promise you that whatever demands you have, I would always make a whole-hearted effort to meet your demands," Gandhi said.

PTI

Overconfidence could harm BJP in LS polls: Sharad Pawar

New Delhi: Narendra Modi-led BJP could suffer in the Lok Sabha polls due to "overconfidence" as its campaign is going on the lines of its 2004 "India shining" slogan, NCP chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Thursday.

NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar. Reuters

Pawar, a prominent leader in the Congress-led UPA, told PTI that he does not feel that the BJP will come near the magic mark despite the high-profile campaign.

He suggested that the Congress needed to be more pro-active at a time when Modi-led BJP is striving hard to reach out to the masses.

"Congress is the main party of the UPA," he remarked when asked how the UPA should face the challenge posed by the main opposition party and its leader in the polls.

"I am worried about stability," he said when asked whether he visualised that the post-poll scenario will be a repeat of 1996 polls when BJP emerged as the single largest party but its government could last only 13 days.

Dismissing suggestions of a Modi wave, Pawar said that he does not feel that the "one man campaign" has been able to generate a climate favourable for the main opposition and is apprehensive that it is marred by overconfidence.

He suggested that in 2004, the BJP lost despite having a "towering personality" like Atal Bihari Vajpayee as its leader. He said BJP lost its way in the "feel good" and "India shining" talk and failed to realise how Manmohan Singh became Prime Minister.

Scotching speculation that he would like to become a Prime Minister in the case of a hung verdict, he said that his party was contesting a total of 31 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha, including 21 in Maharashtra. "Is it not irrational politics to think of the moon with such a minuscule strength?" he shot back to a query in this regard.

He steered clear of questions as to how Modi would be as Prime Minister, saying that it is not proper to talk about individuals. He said that he knows Modi for long, but was unsure whether he was Prime Minister material.

"The highlight of this election is that for the first time someone is being projected as PM candidate and it is also for the first time, that the speeches of this PM candidate are available for people to hear all over the country as they are telecast live.

"Even prime ministers have not been so lucky with their speeches. The media management is being felt intensely," Pawar remarked.

The NCP leader said he was not sure of the possibility and viability of a non-Congress and non-BJP government at the Centre after polls. He said such an arrangement would be "hotch-potch" and will be brought down by an outside supporter, whether Congress or the BJP, whenever it would suit them politically.

In reply to a question about AAP, the NCP supremo said he was not sure about the possible impact of Arvind Kejriwal's party in the polls.

"One thing is certain that people wearing caps are seen at many places," he added.

Replying to a question, he asserted that he was in the UPA and would continue to remain in the UPA. NCP has become the second largest constituent of the Congress-led UPA after parting of ways by Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and DMK.

Asked about what role he envisages for himself after the polls, Pawar remarked in lighter vein that after half a century in electoral politics, he has now come to the Rajya Sabha and now would like to take rest in the House of Elders.

However, the minister said that he would be happy to coordinate among various parties in the UPA.

PTI

Four reasons why Modi should just give in to Advani

There we go again. The Narendra Modi-LK Advani spat is back in full public view, playing itself out across the front pages of the national newspapers. It is tempting to view this latest skirmish as one more instance of a bitter old man throwing yet another tantrum; making one more failed attempt to assert his diminishing status. But this time around, it is Modi and not Advani who stands to lose out.

The BJP's prime ministerial nominee is indeed unassailable in terms of his power within the party. But his public image remains vulnerable to the lingering perceptions of authoritarianism. Modi may find that he has won the Gandhinagar battle only to lose the bigger PR war. It would, in fact, be far wiser to just give the venerable elder of his party whatever he wants. And here's why.

One, standing firm feeds the paranoia.

Reuters

According to news reports, Advani is worried about his electoral prospects in Modi's backyard, as the Telegraph reports:

Some aides had 'convinced' Advani that Madhya Pradesh's capital would be more 'hospitable' than that of Gujarat because of the fear of 'sabotage' by BJP cadres. The party ranks are yet to forget the dissent Advani openly displayed when Modi was declared as the BJP's pick for Prime Minister.

While a Gujarat BJP leader dismisses such fears as unwarranted -- and NaMo makes noises about his heartfelt desire for Advani's victory -- no one can blame the man for being a little worried. After all, politics is one long grudge match.

Even if his fears are misplaced, the one sure way to defuse the paranoia is to allow Advani to run from wherever he wants. The reality is that Advani is no longer a threat, be it in Gandhinagar or Bhopal. Giving an old warhorse that privilege in his twilight years shows grace not weakness.

Two, Advani has the better argument. There is no good reason why Advani has to run from Gandhinagar. The argument put forward by the Modi side -- that such "a move would be projected as fresh evidence of a war between Modi and Advani" -- is absurd since the current face-off is already evidence of the same.

Besides, Advani has a winning point when he points to the blatant double standard that allows Modi and Rajnath Singh to contest from seats of their choice -- evicting senior leaders, if need be -- but denies Advani the same luxury. Bullying Advani into accepting Gandhinagar won't squelch the perception, but rather underline his powerlessness. And no good PR comes of kicking an old man when he is down.

Three, remember that adage about keeping your enemies closer. "The old order has to make way for the new dispensation headed by Modi," a BJP source tells the Telegraph. And that is as it should be. But the old order must also be given due deference, and allowed to a dignified slide into irrelevance. It is foolish -- even dangerous -- to engineer a needless confrontation that pushes Advani into a corner, where he has to choose between his self-respect and losing his Lok Sabha seat.

Reports that "the party is veering towards a 'so-be-it' moment if the octogenarian refused to contest the election" bodes ill for Modi in the weeks ahead if Advani chooses to call his bluff. He is no local Gujarat politico on the outs with the party, but a national leader who commands significant attention both within and outside the BJP. He may not be powerful enough to take Modi down, but there is no doubt that Advani can do serious PR damage from the sidelines. There is no surer guarantee of bad press than a bitter Advani with nothing left to lose, eager to air the party's dirty laundry to anyone who will listen.

Four, be a uniter not a divider. Modi's polarising personality remains the biggest question mark hanging over his prime ministerial ambitions. Even those attracted to his promise of governance worry about his ability to effectively lead a fractious and diverse alliance at the Centre.

The much-publicised overtures to third parties are designed to defuse exactly these worries. But all that coalition-building will come to naught if Modi is unable to keep his own troops together. After all, a man who can't handle dissent within his own party can hardly be expected to muster up the political finesse required to keep far more unruly and powerful allies in line.

In his previous confrontations with Advani, the Gujarat CM had something to prove, i.e. his political supremacy. But now that the same has already been established, beating up on the octogenarian makes him look weak not strong -- and in exactly the areas where he has most to prove.

Paradoxically, "losing" this latest battle will make Modi look more powerful than ever as he plays the gracious victor throwing a bone to his vanquished and increasingly irrelevant enemy.

Modi doesn't need to stoop to conquer Advani. Just bend a wee bit.

Live: After Advani, Jaswant Singh gives BJP leaders an ultimatum

12:30 pm: Jaswant Singh takes up cudgels, threatens to contest as independent

Jaswant Singh has also been among the leaders who has been unhappy with the seat being given to him and has now reportedly given an ultimatum to the party. Singh, currently a MP from Darjeeling, has refused to go back to his constituency for re-election.

According to a CNN-IBN report, Singh has told the party top brass that he wanted a ticket from Rajasthan failing which he would contest as an independent candidate.

A senior leader, who was briefly ejected from the party, Singh may not be one of the biggest names in the party any more, but will the BJP come down with an iron hand on one of its senior leaders? It would definitely give the Congress something to go to town with.

12.23 pm: RSS asks Advani to respect party decision

The RSS has reportedly asked LK Advani to respect the party decision that he contest from Gandhinagar, which all but finalises the fact that the leadership will not accede to the senior leaders request that he be allowed to contest from Bhopal.

Arun Jaitley is now reportedly at the party patriarch's house in an attempt to convince him to accept the party leadership's decision.

10.32 am: Modi fails to convince Advani, Sushma's turn to try

By all accounts, Narendra Modi's meeting with Advani has failed to cut any ice with the party patriarch. So Sushma Swaraj has been dispatched to his residence in an effort to placate him further. This is Swaraj's second meeting with Advani. In a bid to placate him over the party's decision, Swaraj had met the senior BJP last night.

Venkiah Naidu has also reached Advani's residence.

Political analysts say that despite this entire placation excercise, it is very unlikely that Advani will get to contest from Bhopal, as it has been made abundantly clear that no matter what the stature of party leaders, that they will have to abide by the decisions of the party and its central elections committee.

Modi leaving Advani's residence: PTI

Modi was at Advani's residence for about half-an-hour apparently to persuade him to contest from Gandhinagar, which he has represented for five times in Lok Sabha.

Though it is not clear as to what transpired at the meeting, sources said Advani is adamant on contesting from Bhopal, saying that he be given a chance to exercise his option to select his seat just as other top party leaders like Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Modi.

10.22 am: Modi fails to convince Advani to contest from Gandhinagar?

Though no official word has come out of what transpired during the meeting, reports are now claiming that Advani is sticking to his stand that he would prefer to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Bhopal and not Gandhinagar.

9.55 am: Modi requests Advani to contest from Gandhinagar?

The latest report coming in from the Modi- Advani meeting, is that the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate has requested Advani to contest from Gandhinagar and not Bhopal as he wanted.

However according to television reports, the senior leader is 'adamant' that he wants to contest from Bhopal.

More details as we get them.

9.32 am: Advani tells BJP that both Rajnath, Modi got to choose seats 

A very miffed LK Advani has reportedly told the BJP that both Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh got to choose their seats, and that the same courtesy was not extended to him.

Advani had reportedly said that he made it very clear that Bhopal had been his preferred constituency. He had reportedly said that he felt as though the candidature from Gandhinagar had been thrust upon him.

The BJP patriarch is currently in a meeting with the party prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi.

9.00 am: Modi visits Advani following Gandhinagar ticket storm

BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has reached veteran leader LK Advani's home in an attempt to defuse the situation that has arisen following his displeasiure over being asked to contest from Gandhinagar.

Advani had left the final decision on his candidature to BJP President Rajnath Singh, but had expressed his desire to contest from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and not from Gujarat.

PTI

Modi's meeting with the veteran leader comes on the back of hour long meetings with Sushma Swaraj and former president Nitin Gadkari.

Advani had reportedly said that he would take a final decision on contesting only after the candidate for Bhopal is declared.

8.30 am: Will Advani refuse to contest from Gandhinagar?

The BJP is now faced with the rather awkward possibility that its veteran leader LK Advani could refuse to contest from Gandhinagar, as decided by the BJP Central Election Committee.

Hectic discussions preceded the decision on Advani at the day-long meeting of the BJP Central Election Committee from which the 86-year-old party patriarch kept away, citing reasons that he did not want to be part of confabulations involving his constituency.

Advani had conveyed to party president Rajnath Singh that he wanted to shift to Bhopal from Gandhinagar which he has represented five times in the Lok Sabha.

Late last night, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari went to his residence in a bid to persuade him to accept Gandhinagar. Advani had insisted that he should have the right to choose his constituency like many other leaders who have been allocated their preferred seats, sources said.

Ever since the elevation of Modi in the party hierarchy, Advani has been sulking and his desire to shift from Gandhinagar is seen as a reflection of the unease in his relationship with Modi.

Live: RSS asks Advani to respect party decision on Gandhinagar

12.23 pm: RSS asks Advani to respect party decision

The RSS has reportedly asked LK Advani to respect the party decision that he contest from Gandhinagar, which all but finalises the fact that the leadership will not accede to the senior leaders request that he be allowed to contest from Bhopal.

Arun Jaitley is now reportedly at the party patriarch's house in an attempt to convince him to accept the party leadership's decision.

10.32 am: Modi fails to convince Advani, Sushma's turn to try

By all accounts, Narendra Modi's meeting with Advani has failed to cut any ice with the party patriarch. So Sushma Swaraj has been dispatched to his residence in an effort to placate him further. This is Swaraj's second meeting with Advani. In a bid to placate him over the party's decision, Swaraj had met the senior BJP last night.

Venkiah Naidu has also reached Advani's residence.

Political analysts say that despite this entire placation excercise, it is very unlikely that Advani will get to contest from Bhopal, as it has been made abundantly clear that no matter what the stature of party leaders, that they will have to abide by the decisions of the party and its central elections committee.

Modi leaving Advani's residence: PTI

Modi was at Advani's residence for about half-an-hour apparently to persuade him to contest from Gandhinagar, which he has represented for five times in Lok Sabha.

Though it is not clear as to what transpired at the meeting, sources said Advani is adamant on contesting from Bhopal, saying that he be given a chance to exercise his option to select his seat just as other top party leaders like Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Modi.

10.22 am: Modi fails to convince Advani to contest from Gandhinagar?

Though no official word has come out of what transpired during the meeting, reports are now claiming that Advani is sticking to his stand that he would prefer to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Bhopal and not Gandhinagar.

9.55 am: Modi requests Advani to contest from Gandhinagar?

The latest report coming in from the Modi- Advani meeting, is that the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate has requested Advani to contest from Gandhinagar and not Bhopal as he wanted.

However according to television reports, the senior leader is 'adamant' that he wants to contest from Bhopal.

More details as we get them.

9.32 am: Advani tells BJP that both Rajnath, Modi got to choose seats 

A very miffed LK Advani has reportedly told the BJP that both Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh got to choose their seats, and that the same courtesy was not extended to him.

Advani had reportedly said that he made it very clear that Bhopal had been his preferred constituency. He had reportedly said that he felt as though the candidature from Gandhinagar had been thrust upon him.

The BJP patriarch is currently in a meeting with the party prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi.

9.00 am: Modi visits Advani following Gandhinagar ticket storm

BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has reached veteran leader LK Advani's home in an attempt to defuse the situation that has arisen following his displeasiure over being asked to contest from Gandhinagar.

Advani had left the final decision on his candidature to BJP President Rajnath Singh, but had expressed his desire to contest from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and not from Gujarat.

PTI

Modi's meeting with the veteran leader comes on the back of hour long meetings with Sushma Swaraj and former president Nitin Gadkari.

Advani had reportedly said that he would take a final decision on contesting only after the candidate for Bhopal is declared.

8.30 am: Will Advani refuse to contest from Gandhinagar?

The BJP is now faced with the rather awkward possibility that its veteran leader LK Advani could refuse to contest from Gandhinagar, as decided by the BJP Central Election Committee.

Hectic discussions preceded the decision on Advani at the day-long meeting of the BJP Central Election Committee from which the 86-year-old party patriarch kept away, citing reasons that he did not want to be part of confabulations involving his constituency.

Advani had conveyed to party president Rajnath Singh that he wanted to shift to Bhopal from Gandhinagar which he has represented five times in the Lok Sabha.

Late last night, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari went to his residence in a bid to persuade him to accept Gandhinagar. Advani had insisted that he should have the right to choose his constituency like many other leaders who have been allocated their preferred seats, sources said.

Ever since the elevation of Modi in the party hierarchy, Advani has been sulking and his desire to shift from Gandhinagar is seen as a reflection of the unease in his relationship with Modi.

BJP facing internal protests over Lok Sabha tickets to ‘outsiders’

Mainpuri: Despite the hype over BJP's prime ministerial hopeful Narendra Modi's campaign, the disappointment and heartburn caused by ticket distribution could hurt the party's poll prospects in Mainpuri, experts have suggested.

Naresh Sharma/Firstpost

Activists and commentators said Tuesday's protest against the official candidate SS Chauhan from the Mainpuri constituency in Uttar Pradesh occurred because the party workers are agitated against "importing an outsider" for the seat.

Some of them even offered to tender mass resignations from the party. The state leaders and the candidate himself, however, underplayed the protests.

Bharatiya Janta Party workers in Agra and a section of the district leaders are opposed to the official candidate Ram Shankar Katheria.

"The cold indifference of many of these leaders will be felt and seen in the campaign," said a party worker Prem Jain.

Hema Malini's entry in the poll fray from Mathura has irked the local leaders since a dozen were in line for the ticket.

"Undoubtedly, the mood is in favour of Modi...but questions are being asked why loyal and hard working party members who sacrifice and give so much to the party are generally ignored when it comes to ticket distribution," said Madhu Chaubey, an activist.

Ticket distribution has hit the campaign in several Uttar Pradesh districts of Deoria, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Fatehpur, Faizabad.

"Local party workers feel humiliated and cheated...One feels resentment towards Modi poll managers," said Sachchendra Kumar Singh of Hathras.

Party workers have protested against Jagdambika Pal's entry in Ayodhya who till recently was a leader of the Congress party. Party workers also protested the entry of Udit Raj in Delhi and showed black flags to candidate Kirron Kher in Chandigarh.

IANS

The shrinking of LK Advani: How he is hastening his own fall

For the last one year, ever since the BJP began inexorable moves to make Narendra Modi its mascot for 2014, we have seen only one side to Lal Krishna Advani: the Big Sulk.

The man widely credited with the rise of the BJP in the late 1980s and 1990s has been unable to put personal pique aside in the larger interests of the party. He has repeatedly tried to queer the pitch for Modi's rise instead of being his prime support and cheer-leader.

While at a personal level one can understand Advani's disappointment that he will always remain the BJP's best man and never its groom, surely, at 86 years of age, he cannot seriously harbour any great visions of what the future holds for him.

The latest drama over whether he will fight the Lok Sabha elections from Gandhinagar or Bhopal is further evidence that the BJP's tallest leader is shrinking in stature, and he is the one doing it to himself. Having sought to fight from Gandhinagar as recently as January, he now says he wants to shift to Bhopal – a move that cannot but lead to speculation about his equation with Modi. In order to give Advani space, the party, in fact, moved Modi to Vadodara when it could have chosen Ahmedabad East for him.

Advani should realise that he's no longer the face of the party. Reuters

But Advani remains in sulk. The only thing he will achieve by seeking to contest from Bhopal is sharpening intra-party factionalism by propping up Shivraj Singh Chauhan of Madhya Pradesh against Modi. One can only suspect that Advani is very cut up with Modi, and does not want to be beholden to him for any win from Gandhinagar.

So, this is clearly more about Advani's personal grouse than anything else for Modi has not done anything overtly to undercut him.

However, one cannot rule out an underlying battle of egos here: having been Modi's mentor and backer all through till last year, Advani may be expecting more reverence and more payback from Modi. But Modi's personality is not the type to kowtow and self-efface. In fact, there is good reason to presume that he has a strong ego of his own – and may not be willing to make the first move to placate Advani.

But beyond this obvious clash of egos, one cannot but lay the fault more at Advani's door. For several reasons.

First, if he is not in contention for power, he ought to have accepted this reality and played statesman and mentor to whoever the party anointed as its prime ministerial candidate. But Advani thinks he should play favourites: he has thus been using proxies like Sushma Swaraj and Shivraj Singh Chauhan to stem the Modi tide.

Second, even assuming his personal equation with Modi is not good, it does not automatically follow that he must play spoiler to Modi's growth plans. Modi's rise is due to the groundswell of support in his favour among the party's grassroots. Just as Advani was BJP's man of destiny in the 1990s, today it is Modi. Advani's inability to accept this shift in equations is what is at the root of his rift with Modi.

Third, outside a dynasty, power is not conferred from above. It comes from one's ability and track record. Advani's mistake is to believe that Modi's rise was due to his support – which was crucial at critical points in Modi's career - when the reality is that Modi's current popularity is purely the result of his own efforts. History shows that power is usually not the result of charity from above – and former mentors usually have a falling out with their protégés at some point (eg: Kamaraj with Indira Gandhi, NTR and Chandrababu Naidu, Pranab Mukherjee and Mamata Banerjee). Mentors have to ultimately give space to their mentees and move into the background. Else, they lose their moral standing.

Advani, unfortunately, has taken the diminution in his power with poor grace. In June last year, when the party looked set to make Modi the campaign committee chief, he sent in his papers and ranted against unnamed persons who were "concerned just with their personal agendas."

In September, when the party wanted to officially nominate Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, Advani & Co tried to stall it by saying the party should wait till after the assembly elections.  The RSS and the BJP clearly saw through this ruse, for had the party waited, and the BJP had won three states, Advani would have pushed the candidacy of Chouhan – and put the party in a quandary. The party did right to squash Advani's efforts to create a rift before the Lok Sabha elections.

In January, he squelched talk of going to the Rajya Sabha, making it clear that he wanted to fight the Lok Sabha elections. He had said then: "I have not said anything (about going to RS) and if somebody offers me this suggestion I will think about it. But it is natural, I think, that if I had to consider it I would have done it earlier."

Now that the party says he can fight from Gandhinagar, he wants to go to Bhopal.

Whichever way this controversy ends, one thing should be clear to everybody: Advani is a bitter man and uncomfortable with his own growing irrelevance. He ought to have accepted his reduced relevance with grace; he is choosing to play sourpuss instead.

In the process, he is hastening the arrival of his own irrelevance. Everyone knows that he is not the key to the BJP's future any more. All that's left is a strong memory of the man who built the party and is now playing party pooper.

Expelled JD(U) MP joins Congress, says Nitish is like ‘Hitler’

Bihar: Expelled JD(U) MP from Gopalganj, Purnamasi Ram has joined Congress slamming the "Hitler- style" functioning of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and is likely to get a Lok Sabha ticket from Valmikinagar.

AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters that Congress President Sonia Gandhi has inducted Ram into the party.

Nitish functions like Hitler? PTI

"We welcome him and he will get full respect as per the Congress tradition," Dwivedi said.

Ram said he left JD-U because of the "Hitler-style" functioning of Nitish Kumar and predicted that the party would not win more than four to five of the total 40 seats in the state. He said he  joined Congress to check communal forces in Bihar.

Ram was among  four Lok Sabha members expelled for 'anti-party activities' by the JD-U leadership last month.

They included Captain Jainarain Nishad (from Muzaffarpur), Sushil Kumar Singh (Aurangabad) and Mangani Lal Mandal (Jhanjharpur).

This story was originally published on News18.com

Why should Manipur adopt Gujarat model? Rahul takes on Modi

Wangjing (Manipur): Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday questioned the BJP's plan to impose the Gujarat model of development on all states. He asserted the best model for each state was one that reflected people's aspirations.

Rahul said each state should be developed based on the aspirations of its people. IANS

"The opposition talks about the Gujarat model everywhere. What has it got to do with Manipur or Uttar Pradesh or Meghalaya? The only model that should work in Manipur is the Manipur model, not the Gujarat model," Gandhi told a massive public rally here.

He said the Congress party respected everybody, irrespective of their religion or the place they came from.

"We don't want to impose anything on Manipur. We are proud of the language and culture of Manipur as we are proud of all others," Gandhi said, according to a release here.

"India is garden of flowers; big, small, different colours. We respect each of these flowers. Our opposition wants only one kind," Gandhi said.

"Hospitals with 100 beds have been built in five districts, and sports complexes were being built in every district of the state, home to Olympian boxer Mary Kom," he added.

IANS

Live: Sushma at Advani’s home after Modi meeting fails

10.32 am: Modi fails to convince Advani, Sushma's turn to try

By all accounts, Narendra Modi's meeting with Advani has failed to cut any ice with the party patriarch. So Sushma Swaraj has been dispatched to his residence in an effort to placate him further.

Political analysts say that despite this entire placation excercise, it is very unlikely that Advani will get to contest from Bhopal, as it has been made abundantly clear that no matter what the stature of party leaders, that they will have to abide by the decisions of the party and its central elections committee.

Modi was at Advani's residence for about half-an-hour apparently to persuade him to contest from Gandhinagar, which he has represented for five times in Lok Sabha.

Though it is not clear as to what transpired at the meeting, sources said Advani is adamant on contesting from Bhopal, saying that he be given a chance to exercise his option to select his seat just as other top party leaders like Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Modi.

10.22 am: Modi fails to convince Advani to contest from Gandhinagar?

Though no official word has come out of what transpired during the meeting, reports are now claiming that Advani is sticking to his stand that he would prefer to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Bhopal and not Gandhinagar.

9.55 am: Modi requests Advani to contest from Gandhinagar?

The latest report coming in from the Modi- Advani meeting, is that the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate has requested Advani to contest from Gandhinagar and not Bhopal as he wanted.

However according to television reports, the senior leader is 'adamant' that he wants to contest from Bhopal.

More details as we get them.

9.32 am: Advani tells BJP that both Rajnath, Modi got to choose seats 

A very miffed LK Advani has reportedly told the BJP that both Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh got to choose their seats, and that the same courtesy was not extended to him.

Advani had reportedly said that he made it very clear that Bhopal had been his preferred constituency. He had reportedly said that he felt as though the candidature from Gandhinagar had been thrust upon him.

The BJP patriarch is currently in a meeting with the party prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi.

9.00 am: Modi visits Advani following Gandhinagar ticket storm

BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has reached veteran leader LK Advani's home in an attempt to defuse the situation that has arisen following his displeasiure over being asked to contest from Gandhinagar.

Advani had left the final decision on his candidature to BJP President Rajnath Singh, but had expressed his desire to contest from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and not from Gujarat.

PTI

Modi's meeting with the veteran leader comes on the back of hour long meetings with Sushma Swaraj and former president Nitin Gadkari.

Advani had reportedly said that he would take a final decision on contesting only after the candidate for Bhopal is declared.

8.30 am: Will Advani refuse to contest from Gandhinagar?

The BJP is now faced with the rather awkward possibility that its veteran leader LK Advani could refuse to contest from Gandhinagar, as decided by the BJP Central Election Committee.

Hectic discussions preceded the decision on Advani at the day-long meeting of the BJP Central Election Committee from which the 86-year-old party patriarch kept away, citing reasons that he did not want to be part of confabulations involving his constituency.

Advani had conveyed to party president Rajnath Singh that he wanted to shift to Bhopal from Gandhinagar which he has represented five times in the Lok Sabha.

Late last night, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari went to his residence in a bid to persuade him to accept Gandhinagar. Advani had insisted that he should have the right to choose his constituency like many other leaders who have been allocated their preferred seats, sources said.

Ever since the elevation of Modi in the party hierarchy, Advani has been sulking and his desire to shift from Gandhinagar is seen as a reflection of the unease in his relationship with Modi.

Modi, senior BJP leaders meet miffed Advani at his residence

New Delhi: Narendra Modi on Thursday met senior BJP leader LK Advani, who is sulking over being fielded from Gandhinagar in Lok Sabha elections since he wanted to contest polls from Bhopal.

Modi went to his residence and was there for about half-an-hour, to apparently persuade Advani to contest from Gandhinagar, which he has represented for five times in Lok Sabha.

Yesterday, the BJP's parliamentary board and the central election committee, the two top decision making bodies of the party had decided to field Advani from Gandhinagar, not Bhopal as the senior leader desired.

 

File photo of BJP leaders at a political rally. PTI

Though it is not clear as to what transpired at the meeting, sources said Advani is adamant on contesting from Bhopal, saying that he be given a chance to exercise his option to select his seat just as other top party leaders like Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Modi.

The 86-year old party patriarch had conveyed his displeasure to party leaders Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari, who met him last night.

The two leaders then met Rajnath Singh to convey Advani's views. Last night, Modi met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, apparently to seek his intervention in resolving the issue.

Advani represented Gandhinagar in the 10th Lok Sabha (1991-96), 12th Lok Sabha (1998-99), 13th Lok Sabha (1999-2004), 14th Lok Sabha (2004-09) and the current 15th Lok Sabha (2009-14).

PTI

Modi vs rest in Varanasi: Can Goliath really beat David?

As the battlelines get drawn, it is clear that in Varanasi, and even nationally, it is Narendra Modi versus the rest. Having built Modi up as the clear frontrunner, the BJP now has no option but to take on all comers and win. The combat is fraught with risk for both Modi and his party because - unusually for such a contest - the challenger has been labelled as the champion even before the match, and the reigning champions – both national and regional – have been called weak challengers.

But no one can change this labelling at this hour, and so the BJP has to prepare itself to fight on all fronts.

Nothing exemplifies the high stakes game now underway more than the forthcoming battle for Varanasi. While BJP cadres may be sure of their man's chances of victory, the reality is that they may be getting a trifle overconfident. History tells us that David beat Goliath and the reason is not luck. David, as Malcolm Gladwell explains so eloquently in his book David and Goliath, always had the edge in this battle because he played to his strengths while Goliath never got play to his.

David was an expert with the slingshot, which is extraordinarily effective from a distance, while Goliath - given his size and heavy armour - needed to get close to his enemy to crush him. David never gave Goliath this chance by hitting bullseye with his sling. If Goliath has to win, he must acknowledge David's strengths and change the field of battle to one where he has the advantage.

Narendra Modi. AFP.

Can Varanasi's David(s) versus Goliath battle have a different ending?

For starters, the most sensible thing for all combatants to assume is that the battle will not be over till it is over. For Modi's detractors, their best bet is not to fight different battles, but field a joint candidate. But given party egos, one can't be sure of this. One certainly does not see Arvind Kejriwal agreeing to this, unless everybody agrees to his candidature. He sees himself as a man of destiny, and his non-BJP rivals in Varanasi may not have the motivation to make him a super-hero at their cost.

As for Modi, if he has to win, he has to change his tactics. He is likely to face not one, but several Davids, each an expert in his own way.

He will face two traditional rivals - Mukhtar Ansari, a local thug with a Muslim voter base, and possibly Ajai Rai, a former BJP politician now with the Congress, with strong muscle-power and a base among Bhumihar-Brahmin voters. Modi has to, at the very least, seize Rai's voters, assuming the Congress will not field someone else like Digvijaya Singh against him. Digvijaya Singh is like a senior version of Kejriwal – able to hog media time with outrageous statements.

Then there is the third, non-traditional David - Kejriwal. This is the enemy Modi cannot afford to underestimate, not because he has much to offer the voters of Varanasi, but because he is a formidable opponent, a master of mobilisation and media tactics. Sheila Dikshit made the mistake of underestimating him in Delhi – but one can understand that, for one didn't know his potential then – and lost. Modi cannot afford to do the same. He needs two plans – one to take on the traditional Davids, and another for the non-traditional one.

Modi's main strengths would normally be enough to take on Ansari and Rai, for he has two high cards in his arsenal: Voters know that if they elect him, they have a potential Prime Minister on their hands. For Varanasi, which has never felt it got its due from national politicians, this is a strong enough incentive to vote for him.

The other high card is what Modi represents: a man with a development agenda. As PM, he can promise a new economic thrust to make Varanasi India's most important tourist destination, complete with new infrastructure and investments. This will benefit all communities and voters know that as PM he could well deliver.

But these high cards won't be good enough against the expected negative propaganda of Arvind Kejriwal, who, according to news reports, plans to stay in Varanasi for a month before the elections and will take the battle to every street.

Kejriwal has some cards to play – mostly negative ones. The first card is a committed volunteer cadre with a strong incentive to muck-rake against Modi. Kejriwal has made it clear he is in the race to defeat Modi, and not to contest the elections.

The second is the media will be following him everywhere. So noise levels – negative stories about Gujarat, Modi's alleged links with big business, etc – will be high. This may not matter to the Varanasi voter, but the purpose of doing this is to get Modi's supporters to make a mistake. If they lash out in anger, Kejriwal will play victim. If they don't, Kejriwal will continue the taunts till they do. Modi's backers have to hold their fire – or fight fire with fire differently.

The advantage Kejriwal has over Modi is that he has no record to defend. He can be in attack mode all the time. Modi has a history to defend. The pressure will be on him, both as Goliath-designate and as the target, to deal with this.

Can there be any counters?

One option is to fight the battle at two levels. At Modi's level, he can ignore the Davids and focus on his big message as development messiah and behave like a future prime minister. Staying calm and in control will work for him. At another level, it would make sense for some lower level leaders in the party to take on Kejriwal on his turf – by repeatedly attacking his 49-day record in Delhi, bringing out his constantly shifting stands on various issues, the shenanigans of his close associates, etc. They have to build a dossier on AAP and Kejriwal and consistently drum this into the voters' heads so that Modi can stay above the battle and Kejriwal will have to defend himself.

You can't take on a guerilla force with the main army. You have to send irregulars after it.

The guerilla has the advantage of choosing his time and place of attack. A defensive strategy against guerillas will not lead to victory. You need to defend at the top and be in attack mode elsewhere. KPS Gill sent the Khalistani terrorists packing, not the Indian army. Andhra Pradesh's Greyhounds sent the Naxals packing, not the army. In Jammu & Kashmir, this is why the army is still not winning the war against the irregulars that Pakistan-based outfits sends here to create mayhem.

Nobody knows what the outcome of the battle between David(s) and Goliath will be in Varanasi. Perhaps it is just as well that Modi has chosen a back-up seat in Vadodara. But his partisans need to learn the lesson from David versus Goliath. They should not choose to play on David's turf.

Live: Modi fails to placate Advani, Sushma’s turn to try

10.32 am: Modi fails to convince Advani, Sushma's turn to try

By all accounts, Narendra Modi's meeting with Advani has failed to cut any ice with the party patriarch. So Sushma Swaraj has been dispatched to his residence in an effort to placate him further.

Political analysts say that despite this entire placation excercise, it is very unlikely that Advani will get to contest from Bhopal, as it has been made abundantly clear that no matter what the stature of party leaders, that they will have to abide by the decisions of the party and its central elections committee.

Modi was at Advani's residence for about half-an-hour apparently to persuade him to contest from Gandhinagar, which he has represented for five times in Lok Sabha.

Though it is not clear as to what transpired at the meeting, sources said Advani is adamant on contesting from Bhopal, saying that he be given a chance to exercise his option to select his seat just as other top party leaders like Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Modi.

10.22 am: Modi fails to convince Advani to contest from Gandhinagar?

Though no official word has come out of what transpired during the meeting, reports are now claiming that Advani is sticking to his stand that he would prefer to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Bhopal and not Gandhinagar.

9.55 am: Modi requests Advani to contest from Gandhinagar?

The latest report coming in from the Modi- Advani meeting, is that the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate has requested Advani to contest from Gandhinagar and not Bhopal as he wanted.

However according to television reports, the senior leader is 'adamant' that he wants to contest from Bhopal.

More details as we get them.

9.32 am: Advani tells BJP that both Rajnath, Modi got to choose seats 

A very miffed LK Advani has reportedly told the BJP that both Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh got to choose their seats, and that the same courtesy was not extended to him.

Advani had reportedly said that he made it very clear that Bhopal had been his preferred constituency. He had reportedly said that he felt as though the candidature from Gandhinagar had been thrust upon him.

The BJP patriarch is currently in a meeting with the party prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi.

9.00 am: Modi visits Advani following Gandhinagar ticket storm

BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has reached veteran leader LK Advani's home in an attempt to defuse the situation that has arisen following his displeasiure over being asked to contest from Gandhinagar.

Advani had left the final decision on his candidature to BJP President Rajnath Singh, but had expressed his desire to contest from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and not from Gujarat.

PTI

Modi's meeting with the veteran leader comes on the back of hour long meetings with Sushma Swaraj and former president Nitin Gadkari.

Advani had reportedly said that he would take a final decision on contesting only after the candidate for Bhopal is declared.

8.30 am: Will Advani refuse to contest from Gandhinagar?

The BJP is now faced with the rather awkward possibility that its veteran leader LK Advani could refuse to contest from Gandhinagar, as decided by the BJP Central Election Committee.

Hectic discussions preceded the decision on Advani at the day-long meeting of the BJP Central Election Committee from which the 86-year-old party patriarch kept away, citing reasons that he did not want to be part of confabulations involving his constituency.

Advani had conveyed to party president Rajnath Singh that he wanted to shift to Bhopal from Gandhinagar which he has represented five times in the Lok Sabha.

Late last night, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari went to his residence in a bid to persuade him to accept Gandhinagar. Advani had insisted that he should have the right to choose his constituency like many other leaders who have been allocated their preferred seats, sources said.

Ever since the elevation of Modi in the party hierarchy, Advani has been sulking and his desire to shift from Gandhinagar is seen as a reflection of the unease in his relationship with Modi.

Live: Modi fails to convince Advani, Sushma’s turn to try

10.32 am: Modi fails to convince Advani, Sushma's turn to try

By all accounts, Narendra Modi's meeting with Advani has failed to cut any ice with the party patriarch. So Sushma Swaraj has been dispatched to his residence in an effort to placate him further.

Political analysts say that despite this entire placation excercise, it is very unlikely that Advani will get to contest from Bhopal, as it has been made abundantly clear that no matter what the stature of party leaders, that they will have to abide by the decisions of the party and its central elections committee.

10.22 am: Modi fails to convince Advani to contest from Gandhinagar?

Though no official word has come out of what transpired during the meeting, reports are now claiming that Advani is sticking to his stand that he would prefer to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Bhopal and not Gandhinagar.

9.55 am: Modi requests Advani to contest from Gandhinagar?

The latest report coming in from the Modi- Advani meeting, is that the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate has requested Advani to contest from Gandhinagar and not Bhopal as he wanted.

However according to television reports, the senior leader is 'adamant' that he wants to contest from Bhopal.

More details as we get them.

9.32 am: Advani tells BJP that both Rajnath, Modi got to choose seats 

A very miffed LK Advani has reportedly told the BJP that both Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh got to choose their seats, and that the same courtesy was not extended to him.

Advani had reportedly said that he made it very clear that Bhopal had been his preferred constituency. He had reportedly said that he felt as though the candidature from Gandhinagar had been thrust upon him.

The BJP patriarch is currently in a meeting with the party prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi.

9.00 am: Modi visits Advani following Gandhinagar ticket storm

BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has reached veteran leader LK Advani's home in an attempt to defuse the situation that has arisen following his displeasiure over being asked to contest from Gandhinagar.

Advani had left the final decision on his candidature to BJP President Rajnath Singh, but had expressed his desire to contest from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and not from Gujarat.

PTI

Modi's meeting with the veteran leader comes on the back of hour long meetings with Sushma Swaraj and former president Nitin Gadkari.

Advani had reportedly said that he would take a final decision on contesting only after the candidate for Bhopal is declared.

8.30 am: Will Advani refuse to contest from Gandhinagar?

The BJP is now faced with the rather awkward possibility that its veteran leader LK Advani could refuse to contest from Gandhinagar, as decided by the BJP Central Election Committee.

Hectic discussions preceded the decision on Advani at the day-long meeting of the BJP Central Election Committee from which the 86-year-old party patriarch kept away, citing reasons that he did not want to be part of confabulations involving his constituency.

Advani had conveyed to party president Rajnath Singh that he wanted to shift to Bhopal from Gandhinagar which he has represented five times in the Lok Sabha.

Late last night, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari went to his residence in a bid to persuade him to accept Gandhinagar. Advani had insisted that he should have the right to choose his constituency like many other leaders who have been allocated their preferred seats, sources said.

Ever since the elevation of Modi in the party hierarchy, Advani has been sulking and his desire to shift from Gandhinagar is seen as a reflection of the unease in his relationship with Modi.