BJP decides Gandhinagar seat for LK Advani, Modi to contest from Vadodara too

NEW DELHI: A day of high political drama saw, first, BJP leadership yet again trying to pacify an angry LK Advani who wanted to give up his Gandhinagar seat and, second, two Congress heavyweights, Digvijaya Singh and Captain Amarinder Singh, offering to take on Narendra Modi and Arun Jaitley, from Varanasi and Amritsar, respectively. Also, as EThad reported, BJP announced Modi’s second seat will be Vadodara in Gujarat.

Advani was being persuaded by the BJP brass to contest again from Gandhinagar in Gujarat and not shift to Bhopal, amove that would have sent out a negative message on Modi. This came after an eight-hour effort by BJP’s central election committee. Advani didn’t attend the meeting. BJP leaders said CEC had decided that Advani must contest from Gandhinagar.

Sushma Swaraj went to Advani’s house to convey the decision, but there was no word from the party veteran, a senior leader said. Advani, people close to him said, wanted a shift in seat because he was upset at the lack of enthusiasm on part of the Gujarat BJP unit about his candidature.

Enthusiasm was evident in Congress as senior strategists confirmed that Digvijaya Singh, known for his frequent political attacks on Modi, has offered to contest against him in Varanasi. And former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh has offered to take on Jaitley. Congress leaders said a decision on these star seats will be "taken soon".