during the general secretaries’ meeting held at his residence even as Mr Madan Lal Khurana’s climb down, saying that he had no problem in working under Mr Advani.Though there was no formal statement or official word from any party leaders, sources maintained that all efforts were being made to resolve the issue amicably and the “positive picture” would emerge latest by Monday.
Incidentally, Mr Vajpayee is leaving for Lucknow tomorrow on a two-day visit to his home constituency and Mr Advani will be in Madhya Pradesh attending a party function tomorrow.
The day’s developments unfolded with Mr Khurana’s meeting with Mr Vajpayee this morning during which he conveyed to the latter that he had no problem in working under Mr Advani.
Mr Khurana said his problem was only with the younger set of leaders who were trying to replace the old guard.
During the hour-long meeting, Mr Vajpayee told the former Delhi Chief Minister that Mr Advani was “unhappy with him” as he had demanded the party President’s resignation in the wake of his controversial remarks in Pakistan.
Mr Khurana told Mr Vajpayee that he had always considered Mr Advani as a guide along with Mr Kedar Nath Sahni.
Immediately after the expelled BJP leader told newspersons that he had conveyed to Mr Vajpayee that he was willing to work under Mr Advani, a meeting of general secretaries was convened at the BJP President’s house to decide on the further course of action.
During the meeting, it is understood that Mr Advani was keen that Mr Vajpayee should clarify his Thursday’s statement and that Mr Khurana should apologise for publicly seeking his resignation from the party President’s position so that the matter was resolved amicably.
Soon after the meeting, Mr Pramod Mahajan went and met Mr Vajpayee once again, triggering hope of an early resolution.
But Mr Mahajan, left the former Prime Minister’s residence without stating anything to the media, thus indicating that the crisis is far from over.
Meanwhile, party insiders on the condition of anonymity told The Tribune that if this stalemate was not resolved by Monday, it could put a question mark on the holding of BJP National Executive Meeting in Chennai.
However, there was no official word from the party whether the issue will be resolved amicably. “Efforts are on and we will let you know if there is anything,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.
All through the day hectic parleys continued amongst the party’s top leaders to end the stalemate caused by Vajpayee’s open criticism of Khurana’s expulsion.
Senior leaders, including Mr Pramod Mahajan and Mr Rajnath Singh, shuttled between the residences of Mr Vajpayee and Mr Advani.
During their talks yesterday, Mr Advani is understood to have expressed his anguish over Mr Vajpayee publicly criticising Mr Khurana’s expulsion, while the former Prime Minister reportedly expressed his displeasure over the manner in which a senior leader like Mr Khurana was expelled without being given an opportunity to explain his position.
Mr Vajpayee was expected to come out with a statement last evening that he did not mean to question Mr Advani’s authority, but it did not materialise, triggering a fresh round of hectic parleys among the party leaders.
