Other BJP leaders may have said it in the past, but today one of
the senior most leaders in the BJP Yashwant Sinha openly came out in
support of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the party’s prime ministerial candidate in the next general elections.
“There is a huge demand from our workers that Modi should be projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate and I also feel that if Modi is projected as a PM candidate, then the NDA will be at advantage,” he said.
The BJP leader, who was the Finance Minister when the BJP-led NDA alliance was in power, is perhaps the biggest leader to openly endorse the Gujarat Chief Minister’s candidature.
Sinha also seemed to be calling the bluff of ally Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, whose chief Nitish Kumar had earlier hinted that he was not in favour of Modi, saying that a secular leader should lead the alliance in the next elections.
Saying that every party was an independent entity, Sinha said,”My
personal view in the matter is that if the BJP were to project a Prime
Ministerial candidate then other parties should accept the BJP’s
decision and not make an issue out of it.”
He also dismissed the Bihar Chief Minister’s earlier comments saying that the JD(U) leader needed to decide whether the whole party was commnal or secular in his opinion.
“You cannot pick and choose people in the party as communal and secular,” Sinha said.
“What I have said is reflecting the point of view which is prevailing in the country and the BJP activists. JD(U) is absolutely free and we are in an alliance together. If the JD(U) takes a position they should do so after careful consideration,” he said.
A spokesperson for the BJP however, dismissed Sinha’s opinion as being his personal opinion.
“The party will declare its prime ministerial candidate when the time is right,” Meenakshi Lekhi told CNN-IBN.
Speculation about Modi’s rise in national politics has been on the rise since he was elected to a third term as Gujarat Chief Minister.
“There is a huge demand from our workers that Modi should be projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate and I also feel that if Modi is projected as a PM candidate, then the NDA will be at advantage,” he said.
The BJP leader, who was the Finance Minister when the BJP-led NDA alliance was in power, is perhaps the biggest leader to openly endorse the Gujarat Chief Minister’s candidature.
Sinha also seemed to be calling the bluff of ally Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, whose chief Nitish Kumar had earlier hinted that he was not in favour of Modi, saying that a secular leader should lead the alliance in the next elections.
Saying that every party was an independent entity, Sinha said,”My
personal view in the matter is that if the BJP were to project a Prime
Ministerial candidate then other parties should accept the BJP’s
decision and not make an issue out of it.”He also dismissed the Bihar Chief Minister’s earlier comments saying that the JD(U) leader needed to decide whether the whole party was commnal or secular in his opinion.
“You cannot pick and choose people in the party as communal and secular,” Sinha said.
“What I have said is reflecting the point of view which is prevailing in the country and the BJP activists. JD(U) is absolutely free and we are in an alliance together. If the JD(U) takes a position they should do so after careful consideration,” he said.
A spokesperson for the BJP however, dismissed Sinha’s opinion as being his personal opinion.
“The party will declare its prime ministerial candidate when the time is right,” Meenakshi Lekhi told CNN-IBN.
Speculation about Modi’s rise in national politics has been on the rise since he was elected to a third term as Gujarat Chief Minister.
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