RSS' Gurumurthy tries to defuse tension within BJP

The regret expressed by Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari on his remark on Swami Vivekananda ahead of the party's core committee meet eased tensions among its members.

S Gurumurthy of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worked behind the scenes to calm things down. He also reportedly met BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani, who had demanded the immediate resignation of Gadkari.

BJP policy makers feel that the trial of Gadkari by the media will not make it possible for him to get a second term as president. If sources are to be believed, by mid-December another meeting of BJP leaders will be called, where the name of the new president will be proposed by Gadkari.