BJP tries to feign unity ahead of polls

NEW DELHI: Seeking to put up a united face after a prolonged spell of bruising infighting, top leaders of BJP met here on Tuesday, ostensibly to discuss the party���s strategy for the ensuing round of assembly polls in three states, including Haryana, and the latest developments in its Rajasthan unit.

Former BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu, deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, Rajya Sabha opposition leader Arun Jaitley and party general secretary in charge of organisation Ram Lal met party president Rajnath Singh over lunch at the latter���s Ashoka Road official residence.

While discussions over the next round of assembly polls in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh and the Rajasthan stalemate are said to have topped their agenda, the decision to convene the meeting appeared to have been prompted by the leadership���s desire to send a message to the cadre, especially those in poll-bound states, that the leadership stood united.

The party���s attempts to present a picture of unity received a boost when former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, who had resigned from the vice-president���s post in June in protest against the leadership���s refusal to hold an introspection into the Lok Sabha election results, echoed similar sentiments.

Participating in a protest rally organised in Ranchi against the non-inclusion of Jharkhand in the list of poll-bound states, Mr Sinha asserted that BJP will face the coming round of polls unitedly and strongly, and give a befitting reply to its opponents. ���Not at all,��� the former Union minister told newspersons when asked whether the wrangling within BJP will affect its electoral prospects in Jharkhand and October 13 assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh. ���We (BJP leaders) shall all unite to face future challenges,��� he replied.

The principal Opposition party has been wracked by a bitter infighting since its debilitating defeat in the general election held earlier this year, with a section orchestrating a sustained campaign for fixing responsibility for the poll debacle and taking corrective measures.