Advani joins BJP top brass in elevating Modi

New Delhi, Dec 3: Senior BJP leader

, who recently gave up his claim to the prime minister's chair, has indirectly endorsed

as the party mascot and prime ministerial candidate in 2014.

While campaigning for the Gujarat Assembly elections, Advani said, "entire India should have governance like that of Gujarat." He termed the Gujarat Chief Minister Modi as a "role model" of development while appealing to states to imitate him. "Modi is undertaking great development work in Gujarat. He is a role model for chief ministers of other states on how to rule, govern and take care of even the poorest," Advani said while addressing election rallies at Kalol and Mansa in Gandhinagar district.

This new tune of the BJP leader comes immediately after Sushma Swaraj endorsed Modi as a possible PM candidate. Taking a cue from Swaraj, more BJP leaders came out in support and praise of the Gujarat chief minister. Bihar BJP chief CP Thakur went so far as to say, "Sushmaji's endorsement of Modi... is the broad view of the party leadership. Arun Jaitley and other senior leaders have expressed similar sentiments in favour of Modi."

Jaitley said Modi was such a popular and "successful CM" that it was "natural" for the party to keep his name "ahead".

Senior leader Gopinath Munde said at a rally in Gujarat, "Narendra Modi is capable of becoming PM and I am satisfied with Sushma Swaraj's opinion."

Modi himself claimed that "after a decade (as chief minister), I can say that the country has realised that the road of vote bank politics was leading to destruction, while the politics of development is the right path. When Congress loses these elections badly as they had never before, people of other states and the entire world will realise that people of Gujarat have given a new direction to the country."

Making it clear that the ramifications of Gujarat elections will be felt nationally, Modi said that Gujarat assembly elections will give a new direction to the country.

OneIndia News