DHAKA: Advani stood firmly against Modi, though BJP president Rajnath Singh and other leaders tried to convince him during two rounds of discussions that majority of the BJP leadership, its cadres and the ideological parent, the RSS, overwhelmingly wanted Modi as the PM candidate.
In fact, the RSS has told the BJP leaders not to delay the announcement, believing Modi`s surging popularity among party workers could spread to voters and turn the mood in favour of the BJP. Therefore, the leaders decided that Modi will be announced as the PM candidate despite Advani’s views.
Singh and other BJP leaders held hectic parleys to work out a consensus before the much-awaited announcement. The BJP president has asked state leaders to reach Delhi by Friday afternoon. His plan appears to convene the BJP parliamentary board ahead of the announcement even if Advani vetoes the nomination.
To iron out differences, he also sought meetings with Sushma Swaraj, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, and senior party Murli Manohar Joshi, who share Advani’s sentiments about Modi’s nomination but are expected to fall in line ultimately under RSS pressure.
The BJP wants to avoid a repeat of the situation that arose in June this year, when Advani had quit from all posts after Modi was named the head of BJP’s campaign committee for the Lok Sabha pollls. He returned to the party fold only after the intervention by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
Earlier, Singh downplayed Advani’s reservations saying “nobody is unhappy and nobody has put any conditions (on declaring Modi as prime ministerial candidate).”
Advani also faced criticism from senior BJP leader from Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi for his opposition to Modi.
“Advaniji has failed to gauge the public mood. Advaniji himself declared Atalji as PM candidate. Now also he could have done the same for Namo (Narendra Modi),” Sushil Kumar tweeted on Wednesday. Sushil Kumar was considered close to Advani till a few months ago, but changed his stance in view of Modi’s popularity.
Source: HT
BDST: 2252 HRS, SEP 13, 2013
GR/SRS
