New Delhi: Senior BJP leaders on Monday night met to discuss the resignation of senior Maharashtra leader Gopinath Munde and said the crisis would be resolved soon.
BJP president Rajnath Singh said the party would talk to Munde, who on Sunday declared his intention to resign from all party posts he holds. "He (Munde) will come here tonight or tomorrow (Tuesday) morning and we will talk to him," Singh told PTI though the Maharashtra leader has refused to visit Delhi.
"I am confident that some solution will be found through talks,” said Singh after a 90-minute meeting of the party's core group comprising senior leaders L K Advani, Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Arun Jaitly, Sushma Swaraj and Bal Apte. Singh clarified there was "no compromise formula" yet.
Munde's representative Eknath Khadse met Singh after BJP leaders' meeting. "We explained our problems to Rajnath Singh. Munde will meet him (Singh) on Tuesday morning. The issue will be resolved amicably," said Khadse.
State BJP president Nitin Gadkari, meanwhile, has dismissed Munde's allegations about lack of internal democracy in the party. He said he would discuss the matter with Munde and dispel any misgivings he has.
Munde had said on Sunday that he was pained since the party did not function in a democratic manner. Munde and Gadkari have had an uneasy relationship over the past few years. Munde has always been seen as the party's rural and non-Brahmin face and Gadkari is close to the Sangh Parivar.
Munde on Monday held discussions with several important state political leaders, cutting across party lines. The leadership of other parties—keen to cash in on the crisis within the BJP—invited Munde for "tea and talks" and the latter obliged. Senior NCP leaders like Chhagan Bhujbal, Madhukar Pichhad and Vijaysingh Mohite-Patil had tea with Munde.
Munde created a flutter by attending the ongoing session of the Maharashtra Legislature and was almost mobbed by legislators from various parties.
Munde, an influential other backward castes leader and brother-in-law of slain BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, has clarified that he has not yet submitted his resignation to Singh. However, he would be doing so Thursday, a day before the end of the Budget Session of the State Assembly, of which he is a member.
Meanwhile, 16 BJP corporators of Pune civic body have sent their resignations to party president Rajnath Singh to express solidarity with Munde.
(With PTI and IANS)
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