Ahmedabad:
After being named the BJP's candidate for prime minister,
Narendra Modi said that he will "leave no stone unturned" to ensure the party wins the national election.
The agenda for the election, he predicted, will centre on corruption, inflation, governance and development.
"The party has conferred an ordinary man like me with great responsibility," said the 63-year-old, flanked by senior leaders of the BJP.
LK Advani was not among them. The veteran leader skipped the meeting of the BJP's parliamentary board in protest against its determination to name Mr Modi its frontman.
Mr Modi pointedly headed straight from the BJP headquarters to the home of the 85-year-old, who was once his mentor and defended him staunchly when communal riots mangled Gujarat in 2002, leaving hundreds of Muslims dead on his watch.
Neither leader spoke to reporters after the 30-minute-long meeting.
But after flying back to Ahmedabad, Mr Modi offered eloquent praise of Mr Advani when he addressed hundreds of party workers. Former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the party's most iconic leader, and Mr Advani are "like the banyan tree of the BJP," the chief minister said, adding that it is the party's "duty to preserve these trees."