Rajnath Singh replaces Narendra Modi as BJP`s 2014 poll panel chief

Zee Media Bureau New Delhi: BJP president Rajnath Singh on Sunday replaced party`s PM nominee Narendra Modi as the party`s election campaign committee chief for 2014 polls. This decision was taken in a board meeting at the BJP office here after the grand success of the mega rally of Narendra Modi today in the capital city. Modi, who was declared the PM candidate by the party top brass on September 13, today proposed the name of Singh in the BJP Parliamentary Board meeting for the post of Election Campaign Committee Chief. "BJP President Rajnath Singh replaces Narendra Modi as the party`s election campaign committee chief ," party leader Ananth Kumar said. He added, "Since 20 sub-committees have already been formed under the Election Campaign Committee and these are headed by various senior leaders, it was only proper that Rajnath Singh be appointed to head the panel." The Parliamentary Board meeting also discussed the ordinance on convicted MPs and MLAs. Kumar said the party appeals to the President of India not to sign the ordinance. The panel also discussed the voters` right to reject and said with it the matter of compulsory voting naturally comes to the fore. BJP demanded that an all-party meeting should be called to discuss this issue. Earlier, speculations were high that Rajnath could be made BJP`s poll panel chief after Modi was formally named as BJP`s prime ministerial nominee. While today`s decision was taken without much ado, Modi`s elevation as Election Campaign Committee Chief on June 9 at the BJP conclave in Goa had created a lot of heat. The decision on Modi was then taken despite reservations of senior leaders LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj. Advani had even quit all party posts in protest but took back his resignation after RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat intervened. JD(U), a key NDA ally for 17 years, had walked out of the coalition as it feared Modi`s elevation would wean away its Muslim voters. West Bengal BJP discusses poll strategy for 2014 LS polls Intending to fight all 42 seats in West Bengal in next year`s Lok Sabha election, BJP on Sunday discussed its poll strategy on the last day of its two-day state executive committee meeting here. Hoping to put up a good show in the elections, party general secretary Varun Gandhi released a set of guidelines for district leaders to strengthen the organisation. Briefing reporters after the meeting, BJP state chief Rahul Sinha said activities like the executive committee meeting would continue till Kali Puja and Diwali, to be followed by a series of public meetings to be addressed by national leaders including Narendra Modi. "Our appeal to the electorate will be not to waste their votes on TMC or the CPI(M)-led LF since no party other than BJP and Congress will be able to form government at the Centre on its own," Sinha said. Varun Gandhi, who is also the observer for West Bengal, believed that the environment was in favour of their good show under the leadership of prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Sinha said. He said that Narendra Modi would address two public meetings in the state at the end of December and mid-January 2014. With PTI inputs