In a replay to the BJP’s Goa conclave family drama that played out before which anointed Narendra Modi as the party’s election campaign chief three months ago, consensus again eluded the party over the announcement of the Gujarat chief minister as BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.
BJP president Rajnath Singh on Thursday was locked in hectic parleys to get the dissenting trio of veteran L K Advani, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and senior leader M M Joshi on board for Modi’s candidature.
The BJP chief’s attempts to put up a united front by claiming that “nobody in BJP is unhappy and nobody has put any conditions”, proved futile as Sudheendra Kulkarni a former key aide of Advani cast doubts on Modi’s ability to lead the nation. “A socially polarising leader has polarised his own party. Can he run a smooth, stable and effective government at the Centre? Think seriously!” Kulkarni wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter, in an apparent reference to the Gujarat chief minister.
Not to be outdone, the pro-Modi camp shot back with senior BJP leader from Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi launching an uncharacteristic attack on Advani, saying, the patriarch “has failed to gauge the public mood. Advaniji himself declared Atalji as PM candidate. Now also he could have done the same for NaMo (Narendra Modi).”
The former Bihar deputy chief minister, however, retracted his comments later, showering praises on the party’s leadership. The damage, however, had already been done, exposing the yawning cracks within the party.