Panaji:
An announcement is not hours, but minutes away, a BJP spokesman promised in Goa at noon. That is expected to be a promotion for
Narendra Modi, after the RSS reportedly sent word that the Gujarat Chief Minister must be given charge of the party's election strategy committee before the BJP wraps up its two-day conclave today.
Sources said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, the BJP's ideological parent, told party chief Rajnath Singh this morning that the Modi announcement cannot be held up by party stalwart LK Advani's absence.
Some hours later BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain hinted that the party was set to make that announcement when he said, "There will be good news...The expectations of BJP workers cannot be ignored."
He also indicated that the fear of crossing crucial ally Janata Dal(United) had been discussed and put aside when he said, "We don't need a certificate from anyone to prove we are secular...Either the whole party is secular or, if anyone accuses any leader of being communal, then the whole party is communal." He said if the BJP did well in the elections, it would attract allies.
Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) says Mr Modi did not do enough to protect the hundreds of Muslims killed in communal riots in Gujarat in 2002 and that makes him unacceptable as the leader of their national alliance, the NDA. A promotion today will be seen by many as a stepping stone for Mr Modi on the way to being declared the party's prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections.
Mr Rajnath Singh had reportedly agonised till this morning over whether to make a Modi announcement at all in the absence of Mr Advani, a move that could etch permanent cracks in the party perilously close to the general elections. Mr Advani leads a club of heavyweights who refused to attend the two-day meet to protest against a promotion for Mr Modi.
Mr Avani reportedly suggested that Mr Modi be appointed the "convenor" and not the "chairman" of the BJP's election committee, which would mean that he would not preside over election meetings; Rajnath Singh would.
That way, his critics argue, Mr Modi would get a special role without being handed unbridled power. Even some top leaders of the RSS are said to have advised against giving Mr Modi unchecked power.