New Delhi:
As the BJP prepares to place Narendra Modi in charge of the party's strategy for elections at its ongoing national executive in Goa, it reportedly is trying to get its allies on board.
Sources have told NDTV that the BJP yesterday held backroom discussions with the leaders from Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), an important ally, over whether they had any objections over Mr Modi's appointment as the campaign committee head - a post seen as a precursor to him being declared the party's prime ministerial candidate.
The JD(U), sources say, told the BJP that it was an internal matter of the BJP and that it had nothing to do with it. The party told the BJP that they are only concerned with who will be the alliance's prime ministerial candidate.
Bihar Chief Minister and senior JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar has made it clear that he will end his ties with the BJP if it picks Mr Modi as its presumptive prime ministerial candidate. At every stage of Mr Modi's ascension within the BJP, the JDU has underscored that he is not a secular leader because the 2002 riots in Gujarat, killing hundreds of Muslims, took place while he was in office.
Muslims make up 15% of Bihar's population, and their support is essential for Mr Kumar.