Thursday, August 25 2005 10:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Amid rumblings in the party units in Gujarat and Jharkhand, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders met here yesterday (August 24, 2005), apparently to discuss the developments there.

The General Secretaries and some other senior office bearers met at the residence of party President L K Advani as rebel leaders from Gujarat held confabulations with a number of central BJP leaders, including Murli Manohar Joshi here.

The issue of rebellion in Gujarat figured in the 90-minute meeting, sources said.

The rebels, led by former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, held talks with Joshi and General Secretaries Rajnath Singh, Pramod Mahajan and Arun Jaitley.

They appeared hopeful on removal of Narendra Modi despite Advani recently showering praise on the Chief Minister.

"Advani has praised Modi but he has never said Modi will not be removed," Patel told reporters here.

The meeting is also understood to have discussed the developments in Jharkhand, where five independent MLAs, providing crucial support to the BJP's Arjun Munda-led Government, have aired their grievances with the BJP leaders here.

Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) decision to snap ties with BJP is also believed to have figured in the meeting.