Uma, Naidu bury hatchet for now

The public rift between former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief M Venkaiah Naidu seems to have been patched up for now.

At a felicitation ceremony organised by the Delhi unit of the BJP, Bharti and Naidu praised each other and projected an "all is well" attitude.

Behind the public patch-up was a determined effort by senior leader LK Advani to resolve the issue. Although Bharti did not respond to overtures by Naidu for a reconciliation at a private function at Advani's house on Sunday, she sang a different tune today.

According to sources, Bharti met Advani twice today and was directed to meet Naidu at his residence. Bharti reportedly met Naidu and both agreed to bury the hatchet for the time being.

At the public meeting, Bharti said it was Naidu's efforts that made her "tiranga yatra" a success. "Just as the person who performs a havan gets burnt by the holy fire, so has Naidu been burnt by allegations that he opposed my yatra," she said.

"I am just a former chief minister from Madhya Pradesh and a national executive member, but the arrangements for my yatra were like that of a general secretary," she said. Explaining her remarks on taking political sanyas, made in Mathura, she said she had been misunderstood.

"The tiranga yatra has transformed my way of thinking. All I meant was that after the Maharashtra and Bihar polls, I would like to go around the country for a parikrama," she said.

Bharti who pledged that she would do a yatra around the country, is apparently trying hard to get out of it after the angry BJP leadership refused back-up support for it unless she climbed down from her temper tantrums.

"I cannot undertake the yatra as the elections in various states will require all the logistical resources of the party," she said. "I am too old to change now. I shall stay my clear hearted self and speak my mind. If people misunderstands it I really cannot help," he said.

Bharti's climb down can be attributed to the fact that the party refused to give in to her demands, both for granting the Nahota ticket to her favourite Prahlad Patel and for fully backing her successor Babulal Gaur in the chief minister's chair. In fact, Guar himself said he had the backing of the central party leadership and that he would be allowed to complete his term.

Bharti's move is also tactical, after failing to get her job as MP chief minister back, she now wants to place her nominee on the chair of state unit chief of the BJP. Shivraj Singh Chauhan's name is making the rounds. If he gets the job, he will conveniently vacate the general secretary's chair in Delhi.

"However, that is not likely to happen, as Chauhan and Guar both belong to backward community. We are looking for an upper caste candidate for the post, which will be filled after the Maharashtra election," said a party source.

For now Bharti will return to Maharashtra and campaign there between October 5-11 despite the best efforts of Pramod Mahajan to keep her out. The next instalment of this saga will be played out after the state elections.