But for the unsavoury controversy that blighted the just concluded IPL championship and dominated the headlines for the past fortnight, the BJP would have continued its onslaught against the embattled Congress-led UPA Government.
Now though, the main Opposition party will again aim to raise a stronger anti-government pitch, with the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in mind at its two-day national executive scheduled to be held in Goa.
If the crucial June 7-8 meeting would aim to strategise for the forthcoming Assembly elections in five states as well as the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the party would also be analysing the reasons for its defeat in the recently held Karnataka polls.
Despite, the series of scandals against the UPA, the BJP has lost three state elections --Karnataka, Himachal and Uttarakhand -- and reports of serious differences among the party top brass appears to have blunted its edge. Amid the strong anti-UPA stance and the slew of measures to project the alleged corruption in the Manmohan Singh Government, the popular sentiment among the party cadre for announcing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate is likely to dominate the conclave’s proceedings. Sources said the pressure from the party cadre has been building on the BJP central leadership to announce its PM candidate to convey an unambiguous message.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader L K Advani on Saturday showered praise on Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, whose government will be seeking its third consecutive term in office in the elections scheduled for November/December.
As Advani went on to equate Chouhan with former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee for his humility and unassuming nature, it led to inferences being drawn that the senior leader was pointing out that there were other leaders in the party who were eligible for the PM’s post.