KORBA, Chhattisgarh: For the first time after being upstaged by his protege, veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani on Monday praised party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, describing him as "my colleague", who had put Gujarat on the fast track of development.

"Gujarat is the first state in the country to achieve 100 per cent electrification of all the villages. And the credit goes to Narendra Modi", he said while speaking at a function organized at the Hasdeo Power Project in Korba district of Chhattisgarh. Advani dedicated to the nation a 500 MW power plant of the Hasdeo extension project of Chhattisgarh state power generation company limited.

Advani addressed the first public meeting on Monday after the party overruled his reservations and declared Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Advani also praised Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh for the development.