Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Friday mocked the infighting within the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying that he sympathises with senior BJP leader LK Advani.
Sibal`s comment came a day after Advani said he has decided to contest from the Gandhinagar constituency, after he was mollified by party leaders, including Rajnath Singh and Narendra Modi.
The octogenarian leader had reportedly gone into a sulk after he was told to contest from Gandhinagar and not from his choice Bhopal.
Commenting on this, Sibal said media runs whatever Modi says, adding other BJP leaders are ignored.
A series of meetings with senior party leaders as well as a telephonic talk with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) brought Advani around and he agreed to go with Gandhinagar.
The 86-year-old former deputy prime minister said he was approached by Bharatiya Janata Party`s prime ministerial candidate Modi, who came to his residence "and emphasised that the people of Gujarat are keen that I represent Gandhinagar in the Lok Sabha once again".
He has won the seat five times.
Advani said he was informed by party chief Rajnath Singh that the Madhya Pradesh unit had also suggested his name for contesting from Bhopal.
He said he was informed that "the choice between the two parliamentary seats should be left to me".
Advani said he was "deeply touched by this gesture of my party colleagues", and also expressed gratitude to BJP members from Madhya Pradesh, including Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, for proposing his name for the Bhopal seat.
The senior leader had expressed his displeasure ever since the party announced his name for Gandhinagar on Wednesday as he was keen to fight from Bhopal.
Advani is known to be close to Shivraj Singh Chouhan and has publicly praised his governance over that of Modi.
Advani was believed not to be keen to fight from Gandhinagar as a result of his tense relationship with the Gujarat Chief Minister.
(With IANS inputs)
