Narendra Modi to meet Advani, Vajpayee, PM

NEW DELHI: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who conquered Gujarat for the second time earlier this month, is expected to meet his senior party leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani, party president Rajnath Singh, besides Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh later in the day.

This will be Modi's first visit to the Capital after being sworn-in as the Chief Minister for the third time on December 25. He is yet to announce his new cabinet.

The BJP had registered a thumping victory by winning 117 seats, ten less than its 2002 figure. The Congress, on the other hand, could manage just 59 seats.

He won his Maninagar seat by defeating Congress' candidate and Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dinshaw Patel by 87,000 votes.

Modi became Gujarat's Chief Minister for the first time in October 2001, after being promoted to that office when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel resigned following the defeat of the BJP in local body elections.

Then, he registered a convincing victory in the 2002 Assembly election, winning 126 seats in the 182-member Assembly.