LK Advani has the "right" to be angry but will pacify him: Rajnath Singh

MUMBAI: As L K Advani continues to sulk over Narendra Modi's anointment as BJP's prime ministerial candidate, party president Rajnath Singh today said the patriarch had the "right" to be angry but that did not reflect divisions in the party on the issue.

He also rejected suggestions that the decision to elevate the Gujarat chief minister, considered a divisive and polarising figure, was taken under pressure from the RSS.

"Advani continues to be our leader, guardian and mentor. He has every right to be angry. I take cognizance of it and would try to address it. Where is the question of his isolation"? Singh told reporters here, a day after the decision to appoint Modi to spearhead BJP's challenge in the 2014 general elections sent Advani into a sulk.

"It is not within my capacity to reply back to him (Advani). If a guardian scolds somebody in the family, it does not mean there are differences within the family. Advani never said Modi should not be nominated BJP's prime ministerial candidate," he said.

With NDA having lost several of its allies, JD(U) being the latest, the BJP chief said he would look for new partners but made it clear that existing ones would be taken into confidence before sewing up new alliances.

"Our existing allies, including Shiv Sena and Shiromani Akali Dal, supported the decision on Modi. There is the possibility of new pre and post-poll alliances. But before we take a decision on that, our present allies will be taken into confidence," Singh said.

He was asked whether Raj Thackeray's MNS would be persuaded to join NDA. Raj Thackeray is considered close to Modi but his estrangement with cousin Uddhav, who heads Shiv Sena, continues. Any decision to bring MNS into NDA fold may not go down well with Shiv Sena.