In 2 days, 3 troubled CMs meet LK Advani

Three beleaguered BJP chief ministers — Vasundhara Raje, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Raman Singh — facing Opposition heat in their respective states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh over alleged scams, have met party veteran L.K. Advani, who had raised voice against the party’s “consensual character” being destroyed and action against those responsible for the party’s disastrous performance in the Bihar elections.

Incidentally, the trio is considered close to Mr Advani and was once considered in the “Advani camp”. While Ms Raje, who met Mr Advani on Friday, is facing the heat over “Lalitgate”, Mr Chouhan is under Opposition attack over the Vyapam scam. Mr Chouhan met the party veteran late Friday evening.

The Opposition in Chhattisgarh has been gunning for Mr Raman Singh over the alleged PDS scam. Mr Singh attended a private function hosted by Mr Advani at his official residence on Saturday.

Leading the revolt against the party high command, Mr Advani, along with other marginalised party veterans, including M.M. Joshi, Shanta Kumar and Yashwant Sinha, had demanded a “thorough review” of the Bihar polls and accountability to be fixed.

Their letter, just a day ahead of Diwali, was seen directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, who had led the Bihar campaign.

However, Mr Advani’s remarks on “achchhe din” last Sunday was seen as a softening of position after the old guard’s joint statement.

Speculation is rife that Mr Chouhan has been unable to get a green signal from the central leadership for the lond-pending Cabinet expansion as the party leadership and the RSS are not happy with the way the state government dealt with the Vyapam scam.