He isn't going, says BJP in Goa, but off the record it's not so sure http://www.indian-express.com/full_story.php?content_id=735
Smruti Koppikar / INDIAN EXPRESS Panjim, April 11: Just as they were settling down in the luxurious environs of the Marriot Hotel on Miramar beach late this evening, came the bolt from Hyderabad. And although BJP spokesman Sunil Shastri put up a brave face and ruled out a change in the Gujarat leadership, senior leaders were evasive. The writing, however, is clear on the wall as the party begins its national executive tomorrow: the issue of Narendra Modi threatens to overwhelm everything else. Included in that ''else'' is the Budget and the link that many in the party see between that and their severe setback in the recent polls. As for Gujarat, right through the day, leaders downplayed it but by late tonight, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu changed all that. Many in the party are wondering about the timing of the TDP's resolution. Said one leader: ''He could have done this last week or two weeks ago, why a day before our national executive?'' Another said: ''This will embolden the likes of Shanta Kumar who have been critical of what has happened in Gujarat.'' Modi and other leaders from Gujarat are expected to reach tomorrow morning when Vajpayee and Home Minister Advani too will arrive, just in time for the office-bearers' meeting which is expected to set the tone for the next three days. All resolutions including the most eagerly awaited economic resolution will be tabled on Saturday. However, as it looks inwards at a difficult juncture, the BJP has turned uncharacteristically unfriendly to the media. The venue is very inviting but the hosts are not. Access to the meeting rooms and senior leaders of the party has been restricted. A strategy on when and how to brief reporters, most of whom are stationed in another hotel four kilometres away, is being worked out. Meanwhile the party's unit in Goa, led by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, has gone all out to roll out the red carpet for his bosses. These are his days of reckoning too, the run-up to the Goa assembly elections expected to be announced shortly. As a kickoff to the campaign, or may be as a morale booster to the state unit, arrangements have been made for a huge public rally at the Campal Maidan, halfway between Panjim and Miramar, tomorrow evening. ''We are expecting a very good response. After all, we started the tradition here of having huge rallies,'' said Parrikar while doing the mandatory eve of the D-day rounds at the Marriot. Goans, in their soce gado (take-it-easy) tradition, seem trifle amused by so much activity that goes well beyond their work hours. Panjim and Miramar have a sprinkling of the saffron-green BJP flags, there are dozens of cars whizzing past the normally laid-back 32-km stretch from the airport to Panjim, police presence is overwhelming and like-never-before, say local citizens =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
