New Delhi: Sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday indicated that top party leaders had spoken to Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav of ally Janata Dal (United) amidst reports that it will make a strong demand for the early projection of the next Prime Ministerial candidate of the National Democratic Alliance. The JD(U)'s antipathy to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is well-known and reports of him being projected as the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate have not gone down well with the party.
According to sources, the BJP leaders conveyed to the Bihar CM and the JD(U) chief that the party must not insist on early declaration of the NDA's Prime Ministerial candidate and that they can sort the matter out. The sources said that the JD(U) were told that under no circumstances should the public feel that the JD(U) is opposed to one specific name.
The JD(U) is expected to vehemently oppose projection of the Gujarat CM for the top job in a resolution at its two-day National Executive beginning on Saturday.
JD(U) President Sharad Yadav, however, has evaded a direct reply on whether the party will oppose the projection of Modi. "We had never compromised on the issue of secularism nor will we do now," he said. He was asked whether secular credentials of NDA's next Prime Ministerial candidate will be an important issue to be discussed at the JD(U) meet.
On whether the party will discuss the issue of Modi's increased projection in BJP, he said, "There is no bar on any issue. Everything can be discussed. Sky is the limit as far discussing issues is concerned. Our party allows people to raise issues. But how can we say what will be the decision before the party's National Council meet."
Yadav's comments are significant as there has been quite an unease in JD(U) over Modi recently addressing a series of meetings with a party leader saying it seemed "if he has been the declared Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP". Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who runs a coalition government with BJP, has been a known critic of Modi. A sizeable section in JD(U) believes that parting of ways with BJP will be unavoidable if Modi is projected a Prime Ministerial candidate in the Lok Sabha polls.
"So far NDA has gone to elections projecting Atal Behari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani. Why should they not do it now," was the refrain of a senior JD-U leader, who did not want to be named.
Yadav, who is also the NDA convener, said that the alliance between BJP and JD-U is working on a common agenda under which BJP had to drop its controversials issues like Ram Temple, abrogation of Article 370 and Uniform Civil Code. "Our national agenda is secular. It is there for last 17 years. Our issues and their (BJP's) issues are different," he said.
Amid growing speculation whether his party will remain within NDA at a time when there is increased focus in BJP on Modi, Yadav said, "No name has been decided either within BJP or within NDA. What is the point in embarassing somebody or ourselves by taking someone's name regularly." Sections in JD-U believe that Modi is not the consensus candidate even within BJP and there could be a possibility of the Gujarat leader being kept out of the race in the view of difference on the issue among the allies.
Attacking Modi, JD(U) leader Shivanand Tewari has claimed that Modi was "desperate" to become Prime Minister and that even without the party naming him, "the Gujarat Chief Minister has already started believing that he is a Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP". Tiwari has also slammed Modi for his comments that states like Bihar should adopt the Gujarat model of development and asked him to learn from the Bihar model instead.
"We will take stock of the political situation prevailing in the country and related issues at our party's National Executive to be held in New Delhi on April 13-14," Kumar had recently said in Patna in reply to questions about the future of JD(U)'s alliance with BJP. "We will also apprise NDA of our deliberations and opinion on various political issues," he had said to repeated questions on his stand that BJP should announce its prime ministerial candidate in advance.
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