Narendra Modi vs LK Advani, once again an open wound

BJP senior leaders LK Advani and Narendra Modi with party president Rajnath Singh

At a meeting that LK Advani did not attend today, the BJP's most senior leaders decided that the party would "prefer" for the 87-year-old to contest the national election once again from Gandhinagar, the constituency in Gujarat that he has represented for five terms.

Mr Advani was allegedly keen on relocating to Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, which is governed by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who is seen as politically aligned with the veteran.

Sushma Swaraj, another BJP leader seen within the party as an Advani loyalist, was deputed by the committee choosing candidates and allocating constituencies to convey the party's request to Mr Advani at his residence in Delhi. He recused himself from today's meeting since he felt it would not be appropriate for him to attend discussions involving his immediate political future.

For the BJP, the strategy in keeping Mr Advani in Gandhinagar is simple - it wants to signal that despite his earlier dissent, the senior leader is now part of a united front backing the party's prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi.

For Mr Modi's supporters, keeping Mr Advani in Gujarat is essential. If he moves to Madhya Pradesh, where the party is expecting to win more than 20 of the state's 29 parliamentary seats, Mr Advani and Mr Chouhan could control a sizeable chunk of parliamentarians.

Just months ago, Mr Chouhan delivered a blockbuster victory for the BJP in the Madhya Pradesh state election, which is being seen as a prelude to another plump performance in the national election.

Mr Advani, sources close to him say, has more definitive reasons for tenanting a new constituency. Last year, he led a bitter and eventually unsuccessful campaign to stop the BJP from picking Mr Modi as its presumptive prime minister. In support of that agenda, he wanted the BJP to consider Mr Chouhan as an option to Mr Modi for its prime ministerial nominee.

Mr Advani allegedly worries that in retribution, party workers in Gujarat will tacitly scratch against his campaign if he runs for parliament from Gandhinagar.