Allahabad: In yet another
indication of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s growing popularity,
the saints attending the Dharma Sansad organized by the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad (VHP) on Thursday openly backed his candidature for the Prime
Minister’s post.
According to reports, two prominent saints, including Ramanujacharya and Vasudevacharya, demanded Modi to be made BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 polls.
Addressing the Dharma Sansad, saint Ramanujacharya said, “Neither UPA, nor NDA, we just want Modi to become the prime minister.”
The saints attending the Dharma Sansad feel that Modi’e elevation as the Prime Minister will pave the way for the construction of a grand Ram temple, which was once the main political plank of the BJP.
Earlier, senior VHP leader
Ashok Singhal had openly backed Modi as BJP’s prime ministerial
candidate, although his organization is split over making the Gujarat
Chief Minister as its choice for 2014 polls.
The growing support for Modi at the ‘Dharma Sansad’ is crucial since it is being attended by top leaders of the RSS, VHP and other religious heads.
While Singhal’s support for Modi is being seen as an attempt by the VHP to mend ties with him given the increasing clamour in his support, other leaders in the VHP, most notably Praveen Togadia, have not yet spoken on the issue.
Singhal recently said that Modi is as popular as India’s first Prime Minister JL Nehru; however, Togadia has been categorical that he will not talk about one person or one party.
Though Modi has not been invited to the RSS-VHP meet at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, the firebrand politician has been at the core of the deliberations, reports said.
Despite being a RSS product, the relations between the Gujarat Chief Minister and the VHP have been edgy till recently owing to the perceived cold war between Modi and Togadia over the erosion of once strong base of VHP in Gujarat.
According to reports, two prominent saints, including Ramanujacharya and Vasudevacharya, demanded Modi to be made BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 polls.
Addressing the Dharma Sansad, saint Ramanujacharya said, “Neither UPA, nor NDA, we just want Modi to become the prime minister.”
The saints attending the Dharma Sansad feel that Modi’e elevation as the Prime Minister will pave the way for the construction of a grand Ram temple, which was once the main political plank of the BJP.
The growing support for Modi at the ‘Dharma Sansad’ is crucial since it is being attended by top leaders of the RSS, VHP and other religious heads.
While Singhal’s support for Modi is being seen as an attempt by the VHP to mend ties with him given the increasing clamour in his support, other leaders in the VHP, most notably Praveen Togadia, have not yet spoken on the issue.
Singhal recently said that Modi is as popular as India’s first Prime Minister JL Nehru; however, Togadia has been categorical that he will not talk about one person or one party.
Though Modi has not been invited to the RSS-VHP meet at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, the firebrand politician has been at the core of the deliberations, reports said.
Despite being a RSS product, the relations between the Gujarat Chief Minister and the VHP have been edgy till recently owing to the perceived cold war between Modi and Togadia over the erosion of once strong base of VHP in Gujarat.
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