Cast into the shadow with his plaudits for Mohammed Ali Jinnah, veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jaswant Singh is here for the three-day party meeting beginning Wednesday, but has largely kept to himself, checking into a different hotel and staying away from a dinner hosted by L.K. Advani.
The former Union Minister, who has earned the ire of party leaders for his book Jinnah India, Partition, Independence, arrived here Tuesday noon for the BJPs Chintan Baithak or introspection meeting.
While all party leaders, including L.K. Advani, Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj, are staying at the State Guest House, Peterhoff, Jaswant Singh is at the Oberoi Groups Hotel Cecil.
We had made arrangements for Jaswant Singhs stay at the State Guest House. At the last minute, we came to know that he had booked his room somewhere outside, said a senior party leader.
After reaching the hotel, he remained cocooned in the hotel. He didnt even attend the dinner hosted by Advani on Tuesday night at the Peterhoff, the leader added.
On the agenda at the meeting, is a discussion on the causes that led to the partys recent defeat in the parliamentary elections and its strategy for the forthcoming assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra.
Other issues like the defiance shown by former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje after she was asked to quit as leader of the Opposition could also echo at the session, the leader said.
Over 25 senior party leaders, including members of the BJP parliamentary board and Chief Ministers Narendra Modi (Gujarat), Raman Singh (Chhattisgarh), Ramesh Pokhriyal (Uttarakhand) and B.S. Yedyurappa (Karnataka), are participating in the three-day introspection exercise.
Keywords: Jaswant Sinha, BJP meet, Shimla
