BJP patriarch L.K. Advani on Monday appeared to have finally shed his reservation to the party leadership’s decision to anoint Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate by being effusive in his praise for the Gujarat chief minister for ushering in development in his state.
He, however, put the Gujarat strongman on a par with the latter’s counterparts in Chhattisgarh (Raman Singh) and Madhya Pradesh (Shivraj Singh Chouhan) as far as contributing to developments of their respective states are concerned, sending a confusing signal on whether he has come to terms with the party crowing Mr Modi by sidelining him.
“Gujarat, from where my colleague Narendra Modi has been made the prime ministerial candidate by my party, was the first state to ensure that electricity reaches each and every village. Even Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan have achieved the feats of ensuring cent per cent electrification of their respective states,” he said while addressing a public meeting after dedicating a 500 MW thermal power plant undertaken by the state government here.
He even went to the extent of describing Mr Singh and Mr Chouhan as “vikas purush (development men)”.
Later, talking to reporters, he said, “It would be in the interest of the nation if Mr Modi gets the position (of Prime Minister) the party has nominated him for. Mr Modi would ensure the development of the whole country as he has done for Gujarat.” He, however, refused to field questions from reporters as to whether he had buried his differences with the party leadership over the issue.
Mr Advani also made a scathing attack on the UPA for “triggering massive unrest” across Andhra Pradesh due to its inept handling of the Telangana issue.