Advani to stress on discipline

With the party gripped by feud among senior leaders, BJP chief LK Advani is expected to stress on discipline and clearly tell the leaders not to make a public spectacle of differences among themselves at the first meeting of the organisation's new team of central office bearers here tomorrow.

Advani, who is understood to be upset particularly over party general secretary Uma Bharti's criticism of her colleagues and subsequent war of words between her supporters and critics, was expected to take a tough line on acts of "indiscipline" and ask the leaders to raise their grievances or differences, if any, within the party fora, sources said.

The day-long meeting comes close on the heels of the recent spat involving Bharti, party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and general secretary Shahnawaz Hussein.

Though Advani has "rejected" the resignation from the Lok Sabha submitted to him by party MP Sumitra Mahajan over the issue of mayoral candidate in Indore, the issue being made a media event has not pleased him, they said.

The core team of the party, including Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and others, today finalised the agenda for tomorrow's meeting which is also expected to chalk out mass programmes against the Congress-led UPA government, work allocation to party general secretaries and appointment of 'prabharis' (new state in-charge).

Meanwhile, a scheduled high-level meeting of the party's leaders from Madhya Pradesh today to discuss appointment of a new chief for the state unit was deferred today in view of possible fresh outbreak of factionalism in the party ahead of local bodies polls in the state, sources said.

Tomorrow's meeting is being held in order to contain the damage done by Bharti's remarks. "The thinking is that if Bharti has any objections to the decision on MP, it would be contained before all the office-bearers meet," said a BJP leader.