Formally name Narendra Modi as PM nominee, demands Bihar BJP

Gaya (Bihar): BJP`s Bihar unit on Saturday became the first state body to ask its central leaders to formally name Narendra Modi as party`s prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

The state unit, which had to opt out of the coalition government after JD(U) snapped ties with the BJP over the elevation of Modi as BJP`s election campaign committee chief, adopted a resolution urging the BJP central parliamentary board to make the announcement on Modi. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar`s JD(U) had ended its 17-year-old alliance with the BJP in June over the Modi issue, resulting in the JD(U)-BJP coalition government in Bihar breaking up. Though Modi has been firmly pitching himself as the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate, the party has been non-committal on the issue, saying its parliamentary board will take a decision at the appropriate time. On Independence Day, Modi had triggered a war of words between BJP and the Congress after he launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on issues of national security and accused him of being soft on Pakistan. BJP patriarch L K Advani had appeared to disapprove Modi`s tirade against the Prime Minister on Independence Day. At the end of two-day state executive committee meeting of BJP here, former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi introduced the resolution demanding that Modi be named as its PM nominee without any loss of time, which was seconded by Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Nand Kishore Yadav. The resolution was adopted amid slogans praising Modi. The Bihar unit of the party has become the first to make a formal demand on this. It was sent to the 11-member parliamentary board, the top decision making body of the party. It said "People want `majboot` (strong) and not `majboor` (helpless) government that could lead the country and fulfil aspirations of the common man." Praising leadership quality of Modi, the resolution said he established Gujarat as a front running state of the country. "Son of a poor who eked out living by selling tea on roadside is the natural choice of people from all walks of life for the post of Prime Ministership," it said. PTI