Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa on Tuesday said the elevation of Gujarat CM Narendra Modi as Lok Sabha Campaign Committee chairman will help boost BJP’s image ahead of the polls.
In an informal chat with reporters at his lounge in the Assembly, the former poster boy of the BJP in South India said there is no alternative to Modi, either in the BJP or in the Congress. “Rahul Gandhi has become more inactive after being elevated as the AICC vice president. He is no match to Modi’s charisma,” Yeddyurappa said.
Asked whether Modi would want him back in the party, he said, “I have come too far and there is no question of going back.”
On whether he would be open for an alliance with the BJP under Modi, he said: “It is too early to say anything. There could be some changes in the NDA after anointing Modi. The JD(S) is feeling uncomfortable while Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa has made her liking for Modi clear. All this (re-alignment) will become clear in the next couple of months.”
On Advani’s resignation, Yeddyurappa said he should have acted in a more mature manner. “He should have attended the party’s executive meeting in Goa and announced Modi’s name. His hasty resignation, however, has weakened him,” he said.
Yeddyurappa observed that Advani’s support base is dwindling with his loyalists, already identifying with BJP president Rajnath Singh.
