While reporting about Congress meeting, a leading local English daily wrote that 'In a rare show of unity, prominent Congress leaders not only shared a common stage but also decided upon a 100-day strategy in a joint meeting with newly-appointed party vice-presidents and general secretaries.” The same newspaper summed up the outcome of the BJP meeting in the headline 'Differences in party haunt BJP leaders'. A widely circulated Hindi daily gave prominence to the warning given by the BJP resident Rajnath Singh to party workers. Rajnath Singh warned them, 'Forget bitterness, then alone you will win elections.' BJP leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj used a harsher, bordering on the crude, language in cautioning her partymen. 'Stop pulling each other's legs. Stop trying to settle scores with one another,' she said.

The Congress leaders of various factions sent a message to the party rank and file that 'We were one; we are one and would remain one.' In fact Digvijay Singh, former Chief Minister and AICC general secretary, restricted his brief speech to the repetition of these words. Not only through words but by other gestures too, the factional leaders tried to convey the message of unity. The most important gesture was the seating arrangement on the dais. Those who were seated on the stage included Kamalnath and Jyotiraditya Scindia, both Union Ministers, as well as Suresh Pachuri and Digvijay Singh. Also seated were Pradesh congress chief Kantilal Bhuria and Ajay Singh, leader of opposition in the Vidhan Sabha and Hariprasad, AICC general secretary in charge for MP. The party satraps, in consultation with the state vice-president and general secretaries, chalked out a 100-day electoral strategy.

'In our meeting today, we chalked out a 100-day programme to go to the people to make them aware of the union government's welfare programmes and failures of BJP-led state government,' said Hariprasad. The new formula of ticket distribution that worked in Karnataka will also be implemented in Madhya Pradesh.

'Grassroots workers have been given due importance in the new committee. A programme has been prepared to uproot the BJP-led state government,' said Jyotiraditya Scindia. He added that all Congress leaders were united earlier also and this would reflect in coming assembly elections as well. A public meeting would be organised very soon where all leaders would share the dais again.

While factional leaders sitting in the hall were sending out the unity message, the mood outside the hall was different. Followers of various leaders were chanting slogans, lauding the qualities of their respective leaders. Hoardings that were put up in different parts of the city also did not send unity message. Hoardings of Kamalnath and Scindia dominated the show. While hoardings of Kamalnath showed him alone, Scindia's hoardings, besides him, also carried the photographs of other leaders of the state Congress. Followers of Kamalnath came from Chinndwara in large numbers. In fact, a special welcome was given to Kamalnath, who was visiting the PCC office after a gap of more than two years.

The happenings at the Gwalior meet must have disappointed the common BJP workers. The central leaders, including Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and other stressed upon the need to forget differences 'Even a family has differences amongst its members but nobody sets his home afire. At the time of crisis, all the members should be united to face it,' said Rajnath Singh in a clear yet indirect reference to growing differences within the party, ahead of the elections.

Terming the grassroots level workers as the commanders of the party, he made an appeal to them to sink their differences and forget and forgive if they were hurt by anyone.

If the Nagar and Gram Kendras were constituted as the new units of the party and 'Palaks' (Patrons) and 'Sanyojaks' (Conveners) of every unit were nominated, the objective behind it categorically echoed not only in Rajnath Singh' speech but Sushma Swaraj's too.

Sushma said, 'Agar sthaniya vidhayak ne apse baat nahi ke, ya pani ke liye nahi poocha aap tamtama kar bahar aate hain aur kahte hain ki agle chunav me hum batyenge. Yah samay niptaane ka nahi hai' (If the local MLA didn't talk to you or offer a glass of water, you get agitated and vow to teach him a lesson. But this is not the time to settle scores).

They warned workers against the tendency of nipta denge (settling the scores). Sushma tried to bring home the point by telling a story from Mahabharat. She said Bheem was told by Yudhisthira that when they were fighting against each other, Kauravas were 100 and they were five but when they pitched against any outsider, their strength was 105.

The two leaders said if the workers come together to give a befitting reply to the Congress, the BJP is bound to retain power in the state and the NDA would get power at the Centre.

But the unity message given by the central leaders was washed out by the undiluted praise of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan by LK Advani, who was the chief guest at the concluding function of the party convention. Advani compared the achievements of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Taking a dig at Modi, the BJP veteran said that while Modi had turned a developed Gujarat into an excellent one, Chauhan had turned a BIMARU state into a developed one. Advani did not stop there. He even compared Chouhan with Atal Behari Vajpayee saying that the virtue of Vajpayee was that he was not affected by ignorance even after so many achievements. 'It is the same with Shivraj Singh. He remains humble even after so many achievements,' he said.

Advani's praise for Chouhan caused a chain reaction in the party. It is learnt that Modi was furious and he reportedly tried to persuade Advani to make suitable amends but Advani declined to do so. Then Rajnath Singh was approached. It is reported that Rajnath telephoned Shivraj and asked him to end the controversy. Shivraj helped by saying that he was not in the Prime Ministerial race and that Modi was number one, Raman Singh number two and he was number three. Rajnath Singh himself said, 'Advani was misinterpreted. Modi is the most popular leader in the country. No one can deny it.' Despite clarifications, Advani's remarks caused a rift in the party and made it clear that Advani leads the anti-Modi faction in the BJP and that he was using Chauhan to block Modi's rise. It is obvious that the controversy will have a negative impact on the party's electoral prospects in MP. (IPA)