Modi Vs Advani show of strength |
September 09 2013 |
September 15 will witness a major show of strength between the two power centres in the BJP: campaign committee chief Narendra Modi and party veteran L K Advani. For, on the same day, both the rivals in the BJP will hold two public rallies just a few hundred kilometres from each other. While Advani will hold a rally at Chaudhary Charan Singh College near Agra, Modi will address a huge gathering of ex-servicemen at Rao Tula Rao Stadium in Rewari (Haryana). The rallies have caused a friction between both the camps as both have deployed their generals to make their respective shows a huge success. Advani is banking on BJP general secretary Varun Gandhi, who has displayed crowd pulling abilities in the past. On the other hand, Modi is banking on former Army Chief Gen (R) V K Singh, as Rewari as well as adjoining Jhajjhar, Mahendragarh and Hisar disctricts have huge presence of serving and ex-armymen. Gen (R) Singh will be one of the speakers at the rally. According to sources, the Modi camp is also taking the help of Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) leader Kuldip Bishnoi, even though no formal alliance has been struck between the BJP and the HJC. Modi’s confidant and in charge of UP, BJP general secretary Amit Shah, is upset with the Advani camp for holding the rally. Modi was forced to cancel his earlier scheduled rally in Mathura on October 2 because of Advani’s event. Sources say that Shah summoned some of the UP unit office-bearers involved in organising the Advani rally and told them to cancel the show. But he was told that this is not possible as a lot of hoardings, banners and posters for the event have already been put up in the Agra-Mathura region. Consequently, the Modi camp cancelled the October 2 rally as it felt that it won’t be possible to mobilise an impressive crowd just 15 days after Advani’s rally in the same region. The entire Haryana unit of the BJP has been galvanised for Modi’s Rewari rally. Besides, the party’s in charge for Haryana, Jagdish Mukhi, is monitoring the entire show from Delhi on a daily basis. |
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