Modi skips BJP meet, fuels rift speculation

The apparent rift between the two top leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- Narendra Modi and L K Advani- was further fuelled on Friday when Gujarat chief minister skipped the BJP national executive meeting that started here from Friday.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi stated his Navaratri fast to be the reason behind his absence from the high level meeting but it seems that it may be the result of the rift between Modi and senior party leader LK Advani.

Advani announced that he will commence his rathyatra against corruption from Sitabdiara where Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan was born, instead of starting it from Gujarat where it was scheduled to start.

It is speculated that the shift in the venue is one of the chief reasons behind the differences created between the two leaders.

BJP president Nitin Gadkari said: "We are speaking to him. He comes usually, but there are some issues due to Navratras."

Incidentally, the much publicized yatra will be flagged off on Oct 11 by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who had not allowed Modi to campaign in Bihar during the 2010 Assembly elections.

Earlier, Modi had went for a three day ´sadbhavna´ (goodwill) fast in Ahmedabad which is considered to be a significant move taken by the Gujrat Chief Minister to project himself as a strong candidate for BJP´s Prime Ministerial post for the 2014 Parliament elections, media reports said.

The two day meet will discuss on crucial issues like corruption that has troubled the United Progressive Alliance government for quite some time and Advani´s rathyatra.