Mumbai: BJP on Sunday said the issue of choosing
a Prime Ministerial candidate for the next Lok Sabha elections
was not a problem and would be done "within a fraction of a
second" by the party when the time comes.
"It is not a problem for the party. Don`t bother about
that. Within a fraction of a second the party will decide and
we will take the decision. It is not a problem. Everyone is
ready and whatever decision the party will take we will go by
that. There is no problem for the party to decide who the
leader is in 2014 or before that," BJP President Nitin Gadkari
said in reply to a question.
He was speaking at the World Economic Forum summit here.
Though Gadkari made light of the issue, BJP leaders
appear to be far from convinced.
When L K Advani declared that he will undertake a yatra
across the country on the issue of good governance and clean
politics, many in the party, the RSS and outside felt he was
pitching his case for becoming BJP`s next Prime Ministerial
candidate.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is said to be
harbouring Prime Ministerial ambitions too and is reportedly
unhappy with Advani for starting the yatra.
Gadkari may have ruled himself out but many feel that
his decision to contest the next general elections- his first
attempt at winning a direct poll- is to keep himself in the
race. He has already said the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate
should be from the Lok Sabha.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her
Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley are also in the race,
among a host of second rung leaders in BJP.
PTI
