The Vishwa Hindu Parishad may have helped him in a big way to win the Assembly elections in Gujarat but when Narendra Modi takes oath at the grand ceremony at the Sardar Patel Stadium on Sunday, the VHP leaders would be missing.No VHP leader, including general secretary Pravin Togadia, would be able to make it to the swearing-in ceremony because they have other engagements, which had been fixed in advance, said Gujarat VHP general secretary Kaushik Mehta.However, sources in the VHP said their leaders wanted to avoid a possible controversy. ‘‘If our leaders share the stage, the media would play it up. And you cannot expect a senior VHP leader like Pravinbhai to be part of the crowd,’’ the sources said. They added that VHP activists have been told they can attend the ceremony. BJP in lift collapse NEW DELHI: Over 20 people, including BJP office-bearer Jayanti Kevat and BJP MLA Ganpat Vasava, had a miraculous escape when the lift of a multistorey district collector building collapsed this afternoon, police said. All the occupants were taken out safely.The BJP workers were rushing to the district election office to file nominations for the Jan 9 poll to the Assembly seat of Surat (West), for which Bhavnaben Chapatwala filed her nomination as a BJP candidate today. (PTI) Mehta said Togadia would be in Jaipur and Delhi on Sunday while he himself would be touring Surendranagar district. State VHP president K.K. Shastri might attend the ceremony, he said. However, Shastri, when contacted, said that he would not be attending the function because of ill health. ‘‘I will send my blessings,’’ he added.Asked why the VHP leaders were not joining in the celebrations of a victory for which they had worked so much, Mehta said: ‘‘The VHP may have played a role in campaigning for Modi but it is not just the victory of the VHP. It is the victory of five crore Gujaratis, not of any single organisation.’’Meanwhile, it is learnt that one of the four stages being erected at the stadium for the function is meant exclusively for sadhus. Said a source, ‘‘We have been told that sadhus and religious leaders would be given the honour which they have never got’’. The source added that while it was a good idea, none of the prominent sadhus associated with the VHP would be there.
