RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has held a series of meetings with senior BJP leaders to assess their views on projecting the party’s PM candidate. Ahead of the September 8-9 meeting of RSS and BJP leadership, Bhagwat met lK Advani and Sushma Swaraj over dinner on Wednesday and then broke bread with party chief Rajnath Singh on Thursday.
Sources said Advani and Sushma want the party to re-visit the issue of PM candidate after the November Assembly election while Singh is understood to have batted for early decision through a consensus. “These BJP leaders made their point to the RSS chief, who is also consulting other leaders of the party. The issue is expected to be discussed threadbare in the September 8-9 meeting of entire parivar,” sources told The Pioneer.
A section of the party wants Modi’s projection at the earliest to make the next election ‘personality centric’. They argue BJP could increase its seat tally substantially if Modi was projected as PM candidate. Another set of leaders feel Modi’s over-projection in the national election could lead to ‘polarisation’ of minority voters. They argue Modi’s leadership would shut the possibility of attracting post-poll allies like the JD(U), the Trinamool Congress, the TDP and others. The RSS leadership is assessing these logics.
last Sunday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had flown in to have a meeting with Bhagwat. Chouhan reportedly told the RSS chief that polarised election in his State would be detrimental to the BJP. This was considered as his reservation to the possibility of Narendra Modi's projection as the PM candidate before Assembly polls.
"Reports in certain sections of media around my objection to Shri Narendra Modi being declared as PM candidate are baseless and misleading. In BJP, the party is supreme and it will decide and declare the PM candidate at right moment. Any speculation in this regard is avoidable," he wrote on the micro blogging site.
Sources claim a section of the BJP wants the issue of PM candidate to be settled before the beginning of the Pitra Paksha --- an inauspicious fortnight --- on September 19. By the end of this period on October 4, preparation for Assembly polls would be in full steam and would have the BJP pre-occupied with it. lok Sabha poll is due in April-may next year.
Inform voters of moves to malign Modi: Rajnath
New Delhi: BJP chief Rajnath Singh on Friday defended Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi against criticism in the wake of suspended Gujarat IPS officer DG Vanzara’s allegation. He said attacks on him have increased after his anointment as party’s campaign committee chief.
“Our very popular Chief Minister Narendra bhai is being attacked. Such attacks have been happening for a long time, it is not a matter of concern. We should all stand strongly and use social media. We can tell the people how attempts to defame (Modi) are being made,” Singh asked ‘e-workers’ to inform people of these attempts to “malign” Modi.
On the fence