NEW DELHI, Oct 27: A last-ditch attempt by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani to resolve the crisis in the Delhi BJP made little headway today with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Lal Khurana refusing to call off his silent rebellion against the party high command.A special meeting convened this evening by the two leaders to bring Khurana around saw the former Delhi Chief Minister pouring out his anger and frustration at being sidelined by the party. According to BJP sources, Khurana bluntly criticised Vajpayee and Advani to their face for succumbing to Sahib Singh Verma's pressure tactics and depriving him of the Chief Minister's post.Significantly, although the meeting was ostensibly convened to discuss the BJP's strategy for the forthcoming assembly elections in the Capital, neither Chief Minister Sushma Swaraj nor Sahib Singh Verma were present. Venkaiah Naidu, who is overseeing the Delhi polls, was the only other leader called.The party leadership was obviouslyhoping to bring Khurana around after he signalled his reluctance to bring matters to a head by attending the state election committee meeting this morning. Khurana supporters, in fact, expressed the hope that the 25 MLAs who had stood by him through thick and thin would be renominated to contest the polls.However, it seems the Vajpayee-Advani duo held out no promises when Khurana met them later in the day and the situation remains in a limbo. Khurana refused to comment on the meeting but sources said that he made it clear to the leadership that they had been unfair to him.``On October 9, he was assured by no less than Advani that he would be sworn in as Chief Minister on October 12. A day later, this assurance was repeated by Naidu, who is the party's incharge for Delhi,'' pointed out a local BJP leader.But, the leader added, not only did Verma veto Khurana's name, the party high command buckled under pressure by agreeing to replace him with Sushma Swaraj.He lamented that a person who breached theparty's discipline by holding the entire city to ransom for a full seven days was later sought to be rewarded with a berth in the Union Cabinet.Party sources revealed that Khurana blew hot and cold during the meeting. Even as he lashed out at the leadership for the shabby treatment meted out to him, he denied that he had deliberately skipped Vajpayee's kickoff rally in Delhi on October 24.He is also believed to have denied reports that he intended to resign from the union cabinet in protest against not being made Chief Minister.The continuing crisis in its Delhi unit on the eve of the elections has embarrassed the party acutely. Unfortunately for Khurana, he seems to have lost his pre-eminent position in the Delhi BJP and the mood in the RSS appears to be to teach him a lesson for daring to rebel.With Sushma and Sahib Singh joining hands to squeeze Khurana out, the former Delhi CM may be left with few options in the days to come. The inconclusive meeting this evening at Vajpayee's residence onlyunderlined his precarious position in the party.
