New Delhi, June 04: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee tonight sprang a surprise by stating that he had neither retired nor was he tired, but Deputy Prime Minister Advani would lead the BJP in the next general elections. The BJP reacted to the statement by making it clear that Vajpayee would continue to be the Prime Minister even after the next elections as he was the party`s "undisputed" leader.

Minutes after Vajpayee had made the statement before a party gathering at his residence, BJP general secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, "the Prime Minister is the undisputed leader. He is our Prime Minister and he will be our Prime Minister in future too."
"He (Vajpayee) has not said anything surprising. Advani had commanded the elections and formulated the strategy. The Prime Minister`s indications were towards this," Naqvi said adding there was no confusion in this.
The Prime Minister`s statements comes on top of a week-long public debate stirred by his remarks on retirement and the subsequent statements made by Naidu that Vajpayee is a "vikas purush" (man of development) and Advani is a "lauh purush" (iron man).
Following controversy, Naidu issued a clarification that Vajpayee would continue to be the Prime Ministerial candidate in the next elections.
Bureau Report