File picture of BJP president Rajnath Singh.
BJP President Rajnath Singh has reiterated that in every situation arising in a post-poll scenario, only Narendra Modi will become Prime Minister.
"Only Narendra Modi has the moral authority to become PM as he has been presented as our PM candidate," Mr Singh told reporters in Mumbai. The BJP president was responding to questions on whether he would become PM in a post-poll scenario if allies felt he would be more acceptable for the job than Mr Modi.
There has been speculation that if the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance or NDA fails to get a clear majority in the national elections, then Mr Singh could be propped up as a PM candidate to draw more allies. Though most polls have predicted a majority for the NDA, Mr Singh's decision to shift from Ghaziabad to Lucknow, which was former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's seat, only added to the rumours.
Meanwhile, on the contentious issue of the BJP wooing the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena or MNS to avoid a split in the anti-Congress vote, Mr Singh said, "BJP is in alliance with Shiv Sena and will remain in alliance with them. There is no tacit understanding between MNS and BJP."
The Sena had expressed its displeasure publically when senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari had met MNS chief Raj Thackeray. Mr Gadkari had told NDTV that he had asked Raj Thackeray to sit out the election so that he would not split the right-wing vote in Maharashtra. "Raj had almost agreed but the Shiv Sena reaction stopped it," said Mr Gadkari. "Raj told me, 'if your allies don't want my votes why should I help?" he added in an interview to NDTV's Group Editor Barkha Dutt last month.
On Tuesday, Raj Thackeray had sarcastically asked "who is Rajnath Singh" after Mr Singh had snubbed him by saying the BJP has said it does not want "unsolicited support" from parties who want to ride on a perceived Modi wave. The BJP chief, without naming Mr Thackeray or the MNS, had said, "no one should indulge in politics of misleading people."
Today Mr Singh said, "He is not from our party. I don't want to speak on him."
Mr Singh also attacked the Congress by saying "They say BJP is spending Rs 10000 crore on polls. I don't know how they arrived at this figure. But their attention is not towards the scam figures the CAG has revealed."
"Sanjaya Baru's book says PM was Manmohan Singh but had no power. Sonia Gandhi enjoyed power without responsibility for ten years. If the PM himself is powerless, then those who have done this have not only demeaned the PM but demeaned the nation," he added.