More twists to NDA tale: Yaswant backs Advani for PM's post

New Delhi, April 15: Senior

leader

, who had been backing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the party's prime ministerial candidate for the next general elections, has reportedly added a twist to the ongoing debate between the BJP and the JD(U) over the selection Modi as the PM candidate.

According to one report, Sinha has now backed veteran BJP leader L K Advani as the NDA's choice for the prime minister's post if the alliance comes to power for the second time after the next polls. The JD(U) is a key ally in the NDA.

Sinha, the report said, backed Advani for he felt that picking him as the consensus candidate would end the debate and unite the NDA. The former Union minister said if Advani was available to become the PM he should be projected for the post. Advani, it may be recalled, was the BJP's prime ministerial candidate in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

Although Advani has said time and again in the recent past that he will not lead the party's campaign as its PM candidate for the next Lok Sabha polls, party insiders said the former Deputy Prime Minister still harbours a hope to become the PM.

Modi, who won the third consecutive mandate in Gujarat last December, has been gradually progressing to play a national role and is projected as the party's PM candidate by a large section. He has also been inducted in the party's parliamentary board recently and is expected to play a big role in the Karnataka assembly polls due next month.

But the man faces opposition from JD(U) while the Shiv Sena, another ally in the NDA, also made its reluctance clear in accepting Modi as the alliance's prime ministerial candidate.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rasheed Masood, while reacting to Sinha's suggestion, said Advani is a communal man and there are no differences between him and Modi. The Congress is trying to fuel the growing rift between the BJP and JD(U) to weaken the opposition alliance, feel some quarters.

It may be mentioned here that Sinha along with some other senior BJP leaders were did not find a place in the core team of BJP president Rajnath Singh. They did not figure in the BJP's parliamentary board, the Central Election Committee or the Central Disciplinary Committee.

OneIndia News