The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continues to debate over whether or not to pitch Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the 2014 elections. NDA allies like the Janata Dal (United) have expressed reservations over the choice.
JD (U) national spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari has maintained that speculation over this issue is inappropriate. He said, "Political parties are there to decide who they will project as the prime ministerial candidate for the country. How can sadhus [Hindu monks] take this decision," Tiwari commented in Patna referring to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s backing Modi.
"The BJP is the largest partner of the NDA. So the prime ministerial candidate will be from it, and this will be decided after discussions within the coalition," Tiwari said.
The Shiv Sena, which recently stated that the NDA should not delay in declaring its prime ministerial candidate, is considered to favour BJP's Sushma Swaraj for the post, in line with the wishes of its founder Bal Thackeray, who died last year.
Despite such objections, Modi is tipped to be a strong contender to emerge as BJP's prime ministerial candidate for the next year's polls. BJP president Rajnath Singh has acknowledged his importance and earlier said none can deny the Modi’s popularity.
He however tried to assuage the dissent, "Parliamentary board will decide the matter," Singh said and added that alliance partners will certainly a be part of the decision too in future.