The rift in the Bharatiya Janata Party between its president Rajnath Singh and senior leader Arun Jaitley showed no signs of healing on Monday night and the party's Central Election Committee could be the first casualty amid speculation that it may be wound up.
As Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh intervened to ensure that the Singh-Jaitley stalemate did not give new worries to the BJP before the polls, sources close to Jaitley said the lawyer-turned politician is unlikely to attend Tuesday's CEC meeting till businessman Sudhanshu Mittal is removed as BJP's co-convenor of the north-east region.
Jaitley has been gunning for Mittal. Rajnath also had a meeting with BJP's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani on Monday night where the stalemate is understood to have figured. Advani has insisted there was no rift in the party.
"This issue may make a good story for you but there are no differences within the party," Advani told media persons in New Delhi.
Party sources said the BJP may wind up the CEC on Tuesday itself after it authorises Advani to finalise the party's remaining Lok Sabha candidates.
Roughly 100 nominees are yet to be declared. Party sources said the authorisation could be given to Advani along with party chief Rajnath Singh and the meeting would be held in Advani's residence.
Advani had to convene a separate meeting at his residence on Friday to finalise candidates of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh as Jaitley kept himself away from the CEC meet.
Mittal however attended a key meeting of the party in New Delhi at the party headquarters to decide upon the seats for Assam.
The meeting chaired by party chief Rajnath Singh was also attended by north-east convenor S S Ahluwalia among others. Rajnath Singh has ruled out Mittal's removal.
When asked if he could offer to resign in the wake of the stand taken by Jaitley, Mittal said, "I am ready to jump into a river, if the party asks me to do so. I will do everything that I am told to do."
Jaitley had shown his displeasure at Mittal's appointment by keeping away from the Central Election Committee meeting of the BJP on March 13. RSS general secretary Suresh Soni called up Jaitley on Saturday night to find a solution to the stand-off, sources said. Senior leaders Venkaiah Naidu and Ravi Shankar Prasad said efforts were underway to find a solution.
