Gadkari to 'challenge' Munde in Mumbai on Tuesday

Sulking senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde's joust with the party leadership has taken a new turn with the Maharashtra unit chief calling for a meeting of party MPs, MLAs, MLCs and office-bearers to discuss the situation arising out of the rebellion.

Party sources said the meeting convened by the state BJP chief Sudhir Mungantiwar in Mumbai is virtually a challenge from BJP president Nitin Gadkari to Munde as it is being seen as a show of strength for both the leaders.

Senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu, who is also the in charge of Maharashtra affairs, will be in Mumbai on Tuesday to attend the meeting.

While the central leadership of the BJP kept away from the media throughout the day to avoid questions on Munde, there were reports that back-channel negotiations were still on between emissaries of Gadkari and Munde to find a way out.

The trigger for the current trouble is the recent appointment of Pune BJP chief, which Munde feels was done behind his back.

But there are also other appointments that have irked Munde.

Munde, who had a meeting with Gadkari in the presence of top leaders including L K Advani on Sunday night, kept up the pressure on the BJP by reportedly meeting Congress in-charge of Maharashtra Mohan Prakash twice in the last 24 hours.

Munde is said to have met Prakash in a hotel late in the night. Another meeting reportedly took place between the two on Monday morning.

Prakash, however, has denied that he met Munde, who reportedly met Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan in Mumbai on Sunday.

These meetings have prompted Gadkari's close associates to spread word that Munde is likely to quit the party and join the Congress.

However, some see this as mere pressure tactics by Munde to make the central leadership grant his demands for more control over the BJP in Maharashtra, including appointment of his associates in key positions.

Munde himself has till now maintained that the question of his leaving the party does not arise. The feud between Munde and Gadkari goes back several years.

Gadkari was a political light-weight when Munde and the late Pramod Mahajan held sway over BJP politics in Maharashtra.

Gadkari's elevation as BJP president changed the equations drastically. Since taking over as president in December 2009, Gadkari has tried to assert himself in Maharashtra by appointing his own people as office-bearers in the BJP state unit which has not been to the liking of Munde.

Munde, an OBC leader, who is perhaps the only one in the state to command some mass following, put up a resistance leading to the present crisis.

While some have questioned the manner in which Munde raised the banner of revolt, others feel some of his demands are genuine.