New Delhi: A host of senior leaders on Friday met BJP veteran leader L.K Advani in an attempt to convince him on declaring Narendra Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP.
Party leaders Nitin Gadkari, Ananth Kumar and Sushma Swaraj were at L K Advani's residence to persuade him on the issue. Meanwhile, BJP President Rajnath Singh is expected to call a meeting of the party's Parliamentary Board today to take a decision on Modi.
Though no intimation has been sent to the 10 Parliamentary Board members by Singh as yet, sources said the meeting is likely to take place at 5 PM here.
Singh has decided to go ahead after holding consultations with the RSS top leadership, including General Secretary Suresh 'Bhaiyyaji' Joshi and Joint General Secretary Suresh Soni. Joshi had met Advani yesterday to persuade him , sources said.
However, Advani is said to be adamant in his stand against Modi and has conveyed to the party that making him the PM candidate will divert attention from BJP's core issues against the Congress like price rise and corruption. Modi, he feels, will become the issue if he is made the PM candidate. "Advani suggested yesterday that the BJP chief ministers should also be consulted on this issue," a party leader said.
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi also have reservations about Modi's candidature and have suggested that an announcement should be made only after the upcoming assembly elections to Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi.
Sources said that senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi may skip the Parliamentary Board meeting.
BJP ally, Shiv Sena on Friday supported Narendra Modi as NDA's PM candidate. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said the BJP-led NDA would win the 2014 general elections if they contest it under the leadership of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
"Yes, we will win 100 per cent if we fight under Narendra Modi. Yesterday, Uddhavji (Uddhav Thackeray) talked to Modiji, and congratulated him as well. We will welcome it if Modi is declared the PM candidate," Raut said.
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