Modi to be discussed at Cong Jaipur meet

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Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi who is emerging as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate after his electoral success, would figure in the Congress’ “Chintan Shivir” being held in Jaipur on January 18 and 19th.
Informed sources in the party on Thursday indicated that this would certainly figure during the discussions on “emerging political challenges” and “ organisational strength” in the brain storming session.
The Congress sources further said “if the discussions would be held in a free and frank atmosphere, then Narendra Modi, developments in the BJP and the NDA cannot be ignored. This is because our electoral fight is going to be with the BJP in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi during the year.”
About 300 select leaders including PCC presidents, CLP leaders, chief ministers, Opposition leaders, CWC members, AICC officials, Union ministers and heads of the frontal organisations are taking part in the deliberations which would formulate the party’s strategy in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
A section of the party views Mr Modi’s projection as the BJP’s PM candidate would help the Congress politically.
It would consolidate minorities and liberals who would vote against Mr Modi decisively. Besides, this will split the NDA and bring the secular parties together after the Lok Sabha elections.
But others strongly feel that this could divide minorities votes at least in four major states: Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This is because Badruddin Ajmal (All India United Democratic Front), Mamata Banerjee (Trinamul Congress), Mulayam Singh Yadav (Samajwadi Party), Mayawati (BSP), Lalu Prasad Yadav (RJD), Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP) are seen as pro minorities.
“In the last Lok Sabha elections we got over 20 seats in UP becuase Mulayam Singh Yadav had allied with the Kalyan singh’s party. But this cannot repeat in 2014,” a senior AICC functionary opined to this newspaper.
According to a section of the Congress, Mr Modi can consolidate anti-Congress parties in Andhra pradesh (YSR Congress led by Jagan Mohan Reddy), Assam (AGP), Haryana (Haryana Janhit Congress —BL,INLD), Orissa (BJD), Maharashtra (MNS).