A rift has opened up in the NDA over the attempted projection of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as the NDA’s probable prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections.
Leaders of the JD(U), a powerful NDA ally, have indicated to the saffron camp that such attempt could 'have an adverse impact on the coalition'. The JD(U), despite being a BJP ally, has managed to stay on the right side of the minority vote bank in Bihar with Kumar offering a series of sops to them.
Also, with the forthcoming UP Assembly polls a section in the BJP is worried about the hype being created over Modi. This section feels the move to project Modi as the party’s face for the 2014
general elections will help the Congress and other secular outfits electorally in the UP Assembly polls.
“Moreover, the case is not over as yet so the party must exercise caution,” a senior party functionary
said.
UP & Modi: Some in BJP worried
A section in the BJP warning of the pitfalls of projecting Gujarat CM Narendra Modi as the NDA’s candidate for PM in the 2014 general elections feels this will impact them in UP too, which has 19 per cent of the minority vote and where Assembly elections are due next year.
This section argues that with nearly 19 per cent of the minority vote bank in the state, not merely for the Assembly polls, but also for the general elections, this particular section of voters could polarise “in favour of the Congress”.
A shift of a lion’s share — 19 per cent vote of the minority vote bank — would have a major impact on 403 Assembly berths and 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP, a section in the BJP felt. However, the BJP, which lacks a credible face to attract votes, is giving all possible indications to prop up Mr Modi as the party’s emerging face.
Senior BJP leaders L.K. Advani, Arun Jaitley, Ananth Kumar, Shahnawaz Hussain, Ravi Shankar Prasad and NDA ally and Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal are leaving for Gujarat to attend
Modi’s three-day fast for peace and harmony in the state. The fast starts on September 17.
Modi is undertaking the fast after the SC verdict asking the SIT to file a final report,or a chargesheet to be heard in a lower court in Gujarat, in the Gulberg Society riots case.