"He is a senior leader of the party. He can guide us from any platform of the party that he chooses to," finance minister Arun Jaitley said.
Finally, BJP leader LK Advani has maintained silence. If the first national executive after the Modi government came to power signified a shift from the past, this occurrence is an indication.
But, this was understandably Advani's choice. At the meeting, which he attended diligently, the senior leader shared the table with prime minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah over lunch. They joked and talked about the past and the atmosphere was completely cordial. During the two-day meet, both Modi and Shah have praised Advani for his guidance to the party, sources said.
They dismissed speculation that his refusal to make a speech reflected his digruntlement, saying there were nearly 300 delegates and not everybody spoke. But then, Advani is not just any member. Barring the national council in Goa, Advani, now 87, has addressed every party conclave.
"He is a senior leader of the party. He can guide us from any platform of the party that he chooses to," finance minister Arun Jaitley said.
When asked if it was Advani's decision or that of the party, Jaitley said internal decision-making was not discussed with the media and nor did it fall under the ambit of the RTI or the world of transparency.
The two-day meet ended on Saturday afternoon with the valedictory address of PM Modi.At the BJP national council held in Delhi in August last year, Advani had made a speech before the PM's valedictory address but at that time too he said it was on Shah's insistence. Advani had then said that only the prime minister should speak at the concluding session.
Incidentally, the BJP is completing 35 years of its existence in two days. Advani along with Atal Bihari Vajpayee were among the founding members of the party. After Vajpayee retired from politics, Advani made the valedictory address at the national executive meetings. Both Vajpayee and Advani were dropped from the parliamentary board in August last year and moved to a "marg darshak mandal", which has so far played a dormant role in the party and has not been consulted be it the Delhi election strategy or the Jammu and Kashmir elections. Advani's silence also puts a lid on speculation about what he may have said.
There are other less cogent ways in which the national executive was different from earlier ones. For one, the meet, which always began at 11 am, started at 10 am on the first day and 9.30 am on Saturday. Shah called a meeting of leaders of seven states, where the party is trying to make inroads, on Friday night after the executive meet. The meeting went on till 11 pm.
A member described it as a very smooth affair which was different from earlier conclaves in "structure, content and seriousness".
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