The Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will accompany party patriarch L.K. Advani when he goes to file his nomination papers for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency on Saturday, said party sources. The party was keen, in the wake of initial differences over ticket distribution and choice of allies, to send out the message that its top leadership was united to face the elections starting April 7, they said.
Mr. Advani has regularly represented Gandhinagar, barring a brief interval, since 1991. This time, the senior leader wanted to be fielded in Bhopal and was reportedly upset at the party’s Central Election Committee decision to retain him in Gandhinagar.
A series of talks followed with senior leaders, including Mr. Modi, meeting Mr. Advani to persuade him to contest from Gandhinagar. Mr. Advani eventually acceded to the party election panel after party president Rajnath Singh left the choice to the senior leader.
Mr. Advani and Mr. Modi are scheduled to address a meeting of party workers in Gandhinagar on Saturday before the filing of nomination papers, according to sources. The event is billed as a build-up to the release of the BJP manifesto here on April 7, when the two top leaders will be seen sharing the dais along with other senior leaders.
In his election rallies over the past few days, Mr. Advani has expressed confidence in Mr. Modi’s chances of forming government.
The BJP has, in the run-up to the elections, faced embarrassment due to internal turbulence. Along with the expulsion of senior leader Jaswant Singh, who decided to contest as an Independent from Barmer in Rajasthan after being denied ticket to his liking, two others — Pramod Muthalik and Sabar Ali — were thrown out of the party within hours of their entry.
