It's official. Modi will lead BJP in Lok Sabha election

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was on Sunday made the BJP campaign committee chief despite senior leader L K Advani’s reservations on the issue.

Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh on Sunday told media persons

 "I have declared Narendra Modi chairman of the BJP election campaign committee. Whatever was done was done on the basis of consensus. Every party sees election as a challenge and BJP takes the 2014 polls as a challenge with a pledge to be victorious."

Rediff.com had revealed BJP’s plans to elevate Modi on Saturday (read it here).

Following the announcement, senior party leaders Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj garlanded Modi on the stage. 

Reacting to the development, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh congratulated Modi, but ruled out any comparison between the Gujarat Chief Minister and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.

Meanwhile, sources had earlier said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and BJP leaders were in touch with Advani to convince him that naming of Modi as party’s campaign committee chief would be beneficial for the party in the next general elections.

Sources said Modi’s supporters were keen that he be declared the prime ministerial candidate or at least the head of the campaign committee at the conclave.

However, some of the senior leaders felt that such an important decision should not be taken without keeping Advani on board.

The party also sent out a message to alliance partner Janata Dal-United, which has objections to projection of Modi as BJP's Prime Ministerial face, saying the party does not need any certificate from anyone about who is secular and who is not.

BJP spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said the Gujarat Chief Minister is as "secular" as any other leader in the party and asserted that parties will ally with the party when it reaches close to power.

"People have expectations, we cannot ignore those expectations. Workers (of BJP) have expectations, we cannot ignore those expectations," Hussain told a press conference in Panaji while briefing media persons on the deliberations at BJP's National Executive meet.

To a question about JD-U’s opposition to Modi, he said, "We do not need certificate from anybody about who is secular and who is not... In BJP, all are secular and nobody is communal...How can one be secular (in BJP) and another not be secular?"

When asked by reporters about JD(U)'s reservations over Modi, Hussain said, "Modi's ideology is the same as that of L K Advani which is the same as that of Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, and Venkaiah Naidu."

The BJP MP wondered how there can be any confusion about one party leader being secular and the other not. "Everybody from Atal Bihari Vajpayee downwards is secular," Hussain said.

Asked whether Advani's role will be confined to giving blessings to BJP leaders, he said, "Advani is a seniormost leader and also most hardworking. He will give his blessing and cooperation in dislodging Congress."

He maintained that since BJP is a democratic party, unlike others, a democratic process of decision-making is followed in it. "We are doing this churning to bring out the best," he said.