The four senior party leaders conveyed their view to BJP's general secretary, organisation, Ram Lal, the man appointed by the RSS as point man in the BJP.
The RSS soon came into action, and its leaders began having second thoughts about Gadkari.
Meanwhile, known bete noire of Gadkari, Yashwant Sinha stirred a hornets' nest by obtaining a nomination form the the party chief elections.
This sent a clear signal to the top RSS leadership, that the BJP may break into two camps.
The RSS then communicated to Sushma Swaraj through Ram Lal, that Rajnath Singh was its second choice, if Gadkari was not acceptable.