The nomination of veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani in the Lok Sabha elections was mired in controversy ever since rumours spread that a section within the party was keen to nominate him to the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP patriarch, however, shot down the proposal and declared his intention to face the ballot. Alongside reports of friction within the party over the old guard continuing to contest elections, Mr. Advani also had to contend with speculation that he is being forced to vacate the Gandhinagar seat for the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
A statement by the sitting MP from Bhopal, Kailash Joshi, that he is not keen to contest elections and reports suggesting party workers in Bhopal were keen to be represented by Mr. Advani were seen as moves within the BJP to pave way for shifting the veteran party leader to Madhya Pradesh.
In choosing to contest from Vadodara and Varanasi, Mr. Modi seems to have taken a leaf out of Mr. Advani's book -- the latter had opted to contest from Gandhinagar and New Delhi in the 1991 elections.
