Advani meets Mohan Bhagwat

Sulking ever since the elevation of Narendra Modi last month, BJP leader L K Advani on Friday (July 5) made a significant visit to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur and claimed his meeting with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat would be "very positive" for the party and the national polity. Advani, who sat side by side with Modi for the first time in the BJP Parliamentary Board meeting in Delhi yesterday after the Gujarat Chief Minister's elevation, discussed party matters and national politics with Bhagwat.

“This discussion will help us change the national polity considering that assembly elections are being held in five-six states and Lok Sabha polls are also taking place. We will bring about change and take the nation in the right direction," he said after his meeting with Bhagwat where another senior RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi was also present. "My visit to Nagpur will be very positive for the BJP and the country," he added. This was Advani's first interaction with the media since he revolted against the appointment of Modi as the BJP's Election Campaign Committee Chairman on June 10.

He had resigned from all party posts but Bhagwat had intervened to make him reconsider his decision. Subsequently, Advani met Bhagwat in Delhi during which he was assured that RSS will hold regular consultations with him on the affairs of the party. He said that his meeting was in the context of that assurance and that he had a "good discussion" with Bhagwat. Advani said he may be a member of the BJP but ideologically he was associated with the Sangh Parivar since the age of 14 years. "There will be continuous discourse between us," he added.