BJP president Rajnath Singh Saturday said party veteran L K Advani was not opposed to Narendra Modi being named as the party's prime ministerial candidate ahead of Lok Sabha polls next year even as senior party leaders met the patriarch and sought to assuage his hurt feelings.
"He has never said that Narendra Modi should not be declared BJP's prime ministerial candidate. There are no differences within the party on this decision," Singh said in Mumbai, seeking to downplay the rift in the party over the decision.
Singh said the decision was taken after gauging the popular mood in the country. "Modi is the most popular leader in our democracy today," he added.
Singh took a dig at the Congress for the delay in announcing its PM candidate. "I want to ask the Congress who their PM candidate is. Some of their Cabinet ministers say that Rahul Gandhi is their pick. This is probably the first time in independent India, that a ruling party is not unanimously naming its serving PM as the candidate, but hinting at other possible names," he said.
Singh reaffirmed that Advani had the right to question him and said Advani had not been isolated in the party.
"He is our leader, our guardian and mentor. He has the right to get angry at us, thrash us, reprimand us. I will do what it takes to make necessary amends. If a father admonishes his child, it does not mean there is indiscipline in the family," Singh said, adding that people can expect Advani and Modi to share the stage at a party function in Bhopal on September 25.
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