Gadkari holds first meet with new team

In his address,Gadkari talked about organisational and electoral planning and stressed that every office-bearer would have to spend eight days a month interacting with party workers at the grassroots . Towards his objective of creating a pool of 10,000 trained workers,Gadkari talked of having training programmes (on ideological and contemporary issues and new-age communication tools) for the cadre all over the country. He had a word of praise for Karnataka CM B S Yeddyurappa for winning the local elections in Bangalore.

Details were sought from the state BJP units about the preparations for April 21 Sansad Chalo rally. Lakhs of workers will reach the capital in 30 trains and several buses, said BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha,Sushma Swaraj,and her counterpart in Rajya Sabha,Arun Jaitley,were given the responsibility to talk to all concerned and form an opinion on Foreign Universities Bill and Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill,which is in the best interest of the country.

Jaitley made a short presentation on the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill,while Murli Manohar Joshi spoke on Foreign Universities Bill. Swaraj reiterated the party position on the Womens Reservation Bill. The party will oppose the deployment of marshals in Lok Sabha (when it is taken up for discussion),and is open to supporting M S Gill formula on the same (with every party required to field one-third of tickets to women candidates).

Vinay Katiyar,a vice-president in the new BJP team,and another vice-president,Hema Malini,did not attend the meeting.

The BJP,meanwhile,plans to hold its next national executive meet in the capital of election-bound Bihar,Patna,in the last week of May or first week of June.

Umas re-entry: Talks on

NEW DELHI: Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has maintained his defiant posture against the re-entry of Uma Bharati in the BJP,arguing that her comeback would create problems for the party in the state.

With L K Advani,Nitin Gadkari and the RSS said to be favouring her comeback,an influential section of central BJP,however,sees little merit in her comeback.

Shivraj met a host of BJP leaders,including Advani,Gadkari,Sushma Swaraj,Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar,on Tuesday. Bharati too has met a several senior leaders in the past few days.

A section of BJP feels that the cost of Umas entry far overweighs any benefit on account of her homecoming.

The compromise formula says Uma would limit herself to UP (where BJP is desperately looking for a credible backward caste face) but Chouhan has apprehensions (how would that prevent her from interfering in MP affairs, he is learnt to have asked).

A senior BJP leader,requesting anonymity,said,The BJP president has been talking to all stakeholders on the issue,and there are problems right now,implying that Uma may have to wait for sometime.