Narendra Modi may be declared BJP's PM candidate next week

NEW DELHI: Decks have been cleared for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's projection as BJP's PM candidate, with party president Rajnath Singh putting an end to the speculation by telling RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat that he was ready to make the announcement shortly, possibly by next week.

Sources said Rajnath, who held back the announcement in the hope of achieving unanimity on Modi, has decided to go ahead despite continuing reservations from a couple of senior leaders. Rajnath conveyed his readiness to Bhagwat on Wednesday, and followed that up by apprising former party chief Murli Manohar Joshi of the same on Thursday.

'Time not right'

According to sources, at least two senior leaders — party stalwart LK Advani and leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj — continue to have misgivings about the desirability of anointing Modi at this juncture: the chief reason why Rajnath did not follow through so far on his decision to appoint the Gujarat CM as the head of party's national campaign committee.

However, Rajnath as well as the RSS leadership have decided to end the suspense, recognizing that his objective to bring all the bigwigs on the same page was too ambitious and will remain elusive.

There has been a flurry of activity in the lead-up to the crucial announcement. RSS No. 2 Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi had met Advani and Swaraj along with Rajnath to press for an early declaration. This was followed by a meeting between Bhagwat and Advani held at the latter's instance.

Besides Rajnath, his immediate predecessor Nitin Gadkari is involved in the effort to clear the way for the declaration which is set to happen after the two-day Sangh Parivar deliberations which will conclude on September 9.

Majority of the members of BJP's parliamentary board: the top decision-making body which has to make the final call, are staunchly behind Modi. So are the powerful satraps. Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday strongly denied that he had asked for the declaration of Modi to be deferred until after assembly elections scheduled to be held in October- November.

However, it is the pressure from the ranks which remains the main driver: something which was evident in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday when senior members of the party were on their feet to counter Congress's offensive against the Gujarat CM over the letter of jailed Gujarat DIG DG Vanzara.