File photo
New Delhi:
Narendra Modi will today attend a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party's parliamentary board, a team of 12 top leaders who make the big decisions in the party. He is its newest member.
Mr Modi, who was inducted in March this year, is the only Chief Minister on the team, a concession that was made especially to accommodate him on the board, which is headed by party president Rajnath Singh.
That appointment was widely read as a signal of Mr Modi's growing importance within the party and a decision this week to appoint his close aide, the controversial Amit Shah as the party's general secretary in charge of the crucial Uttar Pradesh has strengthened his position.
The Gujarat Chief Minister is considered by many within the BJP as the best bet to lead the party's campaign in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The elections are now months away, but the party has not made an announcement yet on who its presumptive Prime Minister will be and party leaders have indicated that it is in no hurry to do so. The BJP's key ally, the Janata Dal United has made it clear that Mr Modi is not acceptable to it as the leader of the NDA, the national coalition they partner in.
A final decision, when it comes, will be taken by the BJP parliamentary board.
Mr Shah's latest appointment has led to speculation on whether Narendra Modi could choose to contest elections from UP in 2014 if the party does decide to pick him as its candidate for Prime Minister. The party's only PM to date, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, contested from Lucknow in UP.
The party has, however, categorically denied that Mr Modi has anything to do with Mr Shah being handed a role in the politically-important state. "Narendra Modi has recommended nobody... he (Shah) has been a successful minister in Gujarat... I am sure he will be useful in UP," Rajnath Singh said.
Mr Shah has several criminal cases against him and is out on bail.
Mr Modi, who was inducted in March this year, is the only Chief Minister on the team, a concession that was made especially to accommodate him on the board, which is headed by party president Rajnath Singh.
That appointment was widely read as a signal of Mr Modi's growing importance within the party and a decision this week to appoint his close aide, the controversial Amit Shah as the party's general secretary in charge of the crucial Uttar Pradesh has strengthened his position.
The Gujarat Chief Minister is considered by many within the BJP as the best bet to lead the party's campaign in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The elections are now months away, but the party has not made an announcement yet on who its presumptive Prime Minister will be and party leaders have indicated that it is in no hurry to do so. The BJP's key ally, the Janata Dal United has made it clear that Mr Modi is not acceptable to it as the leader of the NDA, the national coalition they partner in.
A final decision, when it comes, will be taken by the BJP parliamentary board.
Mr Shah's latest appointment has led to speculation on whether Narendra Modi could choose to contest elections from UP in 2014 if the party does decide to pick him as its candidate for Prime Minister. The party's only PM to date, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, contested from Lucknow in UP.
The party has, however, categorically denied that Mr Modi has anything to do with Mr Shah being handed a role in the politically-important state. "Narendra Modi has recommended nobody... he (Shah) has been a successful minister in Gujarat... I am sure he will be useful in UP," Rajnath Singh said.
Mr Shah has several criminal cases against him and is out on bail.
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