BJP still undecided on PM candidate

Any of eight leaders in the BJP, including Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, could be the prime ministerial candidate, party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Monday.

‘The parliamentary board will choose one from among the eight top leaders at an appropriate time as the prime ministerial candidate,’ the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice president told reporters. He said there was no confusion or disagreement within the BJP on this issue.

After releasing the BJP manifesto for the 14 Feb Tripura elections, Naqvi said at least eight important political parties would soon join the NDA. Refusing to disclose their names, he said some of them were earlier BJP allies. ‘Manmohan Singh is a PM on deputation with remote control in Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi's hands,’ Naqvi said.

He added: ‘Our rivals portray the BJP as a Hindutva party although ours is a nationalistic party. Even though several northeastern states are Christian-dominated states, the BJP's aim is to develop each part of the region.’

The BJP has fielded several candidates in all three northeastern states which will see elections this month: Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya.

BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha said Modi was suitable to become the PM of India.

‘I agree with Yashwant Sinha and support his stand for declaring Modi the party’s prime ministerial candidate,’ the actor-turned-politician told newspersons.

‘Modi is an able and popular leader and a successful chief minister of a leading state,’ said the BJP MP said. Sinha refused to comment on the JDU party’s reservations against Modi as the PM candidate.

Sinha is the second BJP leader from Bihar after C P Thakur, MP, to come out in support of Modi. In Bihar, most BJP MPs, legislators and party workers have time and again supported Modi.

Concerned over divisions within NDA on the issue of candidature of Modi, BJP President Rajnath Singh made a ‘final appeal’ to his party leaders not to speak on it. ‘I want to humbly appeal to the BJP workers and leaders that there should be no statement from them on who will be the candidate for the PM’s post. As I have said earlier, the BJP convention is that any decision on the chief ministerial or prime ministerial candidate is taken by the Central Parliamentary Board,’ he said.