New Delhi: Senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani is not ready to opt out of the race for the Prime Minister of India. Advani has recommended that former BJP president Nitin Gadkari be named as the head of party's election committee for five states elections later in the year.
Advani reportedly made the recommendations to mend his relationship with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which places immense trust on Gadkari. Moreover, RSS's blessings are a must for anyone from the BJP aspiring to become the prime minister.
On Wednesday BJP leader Sushma Swaraj has clearly said that no name has been finalised by the BJP for the PM candidate. Sushma's statement clearly showed that Advani 's name has also not been ruled out and now it seems that he is very serious about being in the race as he has asked BJP President Rajnath Singh to name Gadkari as the head of party elections management committee.
Gadkari is very close to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Advani is trying to get closer to him which can help him in the PM race. Advani's recommendation is also targeted at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi who is slowly emerging as the frontrunner to be the BJP prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
But no senior BJP leader is willing to openly comment on the race of PM candidate within the party.
In fact, a large group of BJP leaders is backing Modi and is in favour of giving him the charge for the Lok Sabha election campaign. The argument behind such a move is that if Modi is able to get votes for the party then even the JDU, a staunch opponent of the Gujarat Chief Minister, will find it difficult to stand in his way. But the Advani group is of the view that the five state assembly elections later in 2013 are a crucial test and will prepare the pitch for the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
So the Advani group had forwarded Gadkari's name to make life difficult for Modi. If Gadkari is made the campaign in-charge for state elections, then he will also claim that he should be given the same responsibility during the Lok Sabha election. Even Gadkari is eyeing the responsibility but does not want to openly join the Modi vs Advani tussle. He also does not want to been seen as a candidate of the Advani group.
But the final decision of this issue will only be taken during the June 8-9 BJP National Executive meeting in Goa.
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