Advani Misread BJP Party Cadre Mood: CVoter Survey Says

LK Advani completely misread the mood within his party's cadre and support base, a survey suggests. The survey, conducted among those in the metros who have voted for the BJP in the last two assembly and parliamentary elections and intend to do so again, found that nearly two-thirds felt he was in the wrong.

The respondents also did not seem to buy the idea that the reason behind the senior BJP leader's resignation from party posts was driven by the fact that the party was deviating from its values, as claimed by Advani in his letter to Rajnath Singh.

A mere 3% felt this was the true reason. In contrast, 30% said it was because he was forced out of the race for prime ministership, 19% said it was due to factionalism in the BJP and 18% put it down to Narendra Modi's elevation.

Almost three-fourths of the respondents felt Modi was a more popular leader than Advani and 81% said that the BJP should go ahead and project him as its PM candidate.

This was despite the fact that 58% felt the Advani episode would dent BJP's electoral prospects, while only 24% said it would actually help, the rest either feeling it would make no difference or refusing to offer an opinion. The poll was done by research agency CVoter on Tuesday and Wednesday and covered 2,527 respondents across the metros.

Eighty-one percent of those surveyed said the BJP should name Modi as its PM candidate.

Source:TOI

Modi Effect: Advani Returns, But Nitish may Part-Ways with BJP

The BJP may have just defused one crisis after party patriarch LK Advani agreed to withdraw his resignation, but now they could be headed straight into another. There are now indications that its Bihar ally, the Janata Dal (United), could sever ties with the party over the elevation of Narendra Modi to the position of the party’s 2014 campaign committee chief.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held a meeting with senior JD(U) leaders on the issue, but refused to comment on the state of the alliance.

When asked by reporters about the alliance, Kumar cryptically stated,"Wait for some time".

The Chief Minister, whose party had threatened to cut ties with the BJP over the departure of Advani, said he wouldn’t like to comment on the party stalwart’s decision to take back his resignation.

However, other JD(U) leaders were less than hopeful of the alliance in Bihar surviving. "Days of JD(U) ties with BJP are numbered," an unnamed senior JD(U) minister, who participated in the meeting, told PTI. Unnamed sources were also quoted as saying that the the announcement of the break up is expected 'any time'.

"We are in the situation were in we are forced to be separated from the party," Jai Narayan Nishad of the JD(U) told ANI.

The party was reported to have given the go ahead to BJP president Rajnath Singh to pick Modi to head the BJP’s campaign and had said it was an internal matter of the BJP. However, ties between the Bihar Chief Minister and his counterpart have been tenuous at best.

Kumar is reported to have held talks with party president Sharad Yadav and other senior state JD(U) leaders till late last night weighing the pros and cons of remaining in the alliance.

He also held talks with senior ministers in his cabinet like Bijendra Yadav, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Narendra Singh, Brishen Patel, Shayam Rajak and Rajya Sabha member and a close confidante R C P Singh.

Some independent MLAs are also being contacted for enlisting support to the government in the event of BJP exiting the Nitish Kumar government.

JD(U) has 118 MLAs in 243-member Bihar assembly and needs the support of only four more MLAs to reach the majority figure of 122. There are six independent MLAs in the house at present, BJP 91, RJD 22 and LJP and CPI one each.

Source: FirstPost

LK Advani Resigns from 3 Positions in BJP after Modi Gets Promoted

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani has resigned from all positions in the party, TV channels are reporting.

Advani, 85, "resigned" a day after Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was made chairperson of the party campaign committee for the 2014 general elections. Modi's elevation makes him the face of BJP for the elections, and Advani is believed to be opposed to this.

Advani submitted his resignation letter to party president Rajnath Singh and is believed to have said that he is unhappy with the direction the BJP is taking, CNN-IBN reported. Stunned into silence with the unprecedented development BJP spokespersons refused to react to Advani's decision to resign from party posts.

What he said in the letter:

No longer I have the feeling that this is the same idealistic party created by Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, Deendayal Upadhyay and A B Vajpayee.

Most BJP leaders are concerned just with their personal agendas.

I have been finding it difficult to either reconcile with the current functioning of the party or direction in which its going.

Sources: Hindustan Times

Is BJP now Closer to AIADMK?

CHENNAI: The BJP's decision to promote Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as campaign committee chairman is likely to have a ripple effect in Tamil Nadu politics.

Sources do not rule out a post-poll alliance between the AIADMK and the BJP now, with the likelihood of the DMK being forced into the company of the Congress again.

Though CM and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa had been firm about her party contesting in an alliance without the BJP or the Congress, her equation with Modi has heightened hopes of Tamil Nadu BJP leaders that she would plump for their party. "Both the BJP and the AIADMK have been opposed to the Congress and wish to defeat it at the Centre. Uniting our strengths would be better than fighting the party individually," BJP national secretary Dr Thamizhisai Soundararajan told TOI.

Recalling occasions when Modi and Jaya displayed bonhomie towards each other, BJP functionaries were confident a pre-poll arrangement can be worked out. While Modi flew down to take part in Jayalalithaa's oath-taking ceremony in 2011, she returned the gesture by going to Ahmedabad to witness his swearing-in as Gujarat CM for the fourth time. Jayalalithaa also despatched her senior MPs to Modi's Sadbhavana Yatra in 2011.

Source: EconomicTimes

Will Narendra Modi Propel BJP to Power in 2014 Polls?

New Delhi: A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appointed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the head of the election committee, the big question being asked is: will the saffron poster boy be able to bring the main opposition party back to power in 2014 General Elections.

Amid dissent and differences within, the BJP leadership at its national executive meet in Goa gave Modi the charge to lead the party into the 2014 Lok Sabha battle, marking the end of the era of the party's ageing patriarchs.

The BJP announced in Panaji that the Modi had been named chairman of the election management committee for the Lok Sabha polls, virtually ensuring that the Gujarat CM, 62, will call the shots in the run up to the General Elections.

Modi's elevation also means for him that he is one of the top contenders for being party’s prime ministerial candidate in 2014.

As the chief minister of Gujarat, Modi has proved his political mettle winning the state for three consecutive terms. Announcing Modi's elevation as BJP’s poll panel chief, party president Rajnath said, "The country is looking up to the BJP. We need to get prepared for the elections and Modi is the most appropriate person to lead the party to the elections…he is the most popular chief minister."

Singh noted that the decision was taken on the basis of consensus, in the wake of speculation that several senior party leaders, including LK Advani, were not happy with Modi’s elevation. Advani skipped the national executive meet for the first time in his political career, citing health reasons.

Reportedly, Advani had offered a compromise formula, suggesting that Modi be appointed as the convenor and not the chairman of the poll panel. However, the suggestions were kept aside in the wake of strong voices of support for the Gujarat CM from within the party.

Advani was backed by several other senior leaders like Yashwant Sinha, Uma Bharti and Jaswant Singh, who also chose to remain absent from the meeting.

After his anointment, Modi vowed at a workers’ rally to work for a Congress 'mukt' Bharat.

"A country cannot function like this. Manmohan Singh is powerless before Sonia Gandhi. Both are leading India to peril. We have to work towards ensuring a Congress mukt Bharat," Modi said.

Modi's elevation puts him in the same league as the party's other mega leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Advani, whose stamp was all over the BJP campaigns in the 2004 and 2009 polls which the party lost.

The quantum political leap makes Modi's political pedigree several notches higher since he was first asked by the party to take over as the Gujarat CM in 2001.

Source: ZeeNews

Narendra Modi Anointed Chairman of BJP 2014 Lok Sabha Election Campaign Committee

PANAJI: Putting an end to the anxiety that had built up within the BJP over the last two days following LK Advani's absence from the Goa meet, party chief Rajnath Singh finally handed over the reins of the party's election campaign for 2014 to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Sunday afternoon here.

Soon after the party's national executive meeting got over at 2pm, Singh publicly declared that he was appointing Modi as chairman of BJP's national campaign committee. "I have an important information to share. All political parties take elections as their biggest challenge and so do we. We will move ahead with the resolve of victory. Today, I have appointed Gujarat CM Narendra Modi as chairman of the national election committee. This decision has been on the basis of unanimity," Singh declared while addressing reporters.

After making the declaration, Singh along with top leaders including Modi himself, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Ananth Kumar, M Venkaiah Naidu, Nitin Gadkari, chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Raman Singh, Manohar Parrikar stood in a row to finally make for the picture of solidarity and party unity that BJP desperately needed to convey after an exhaustive weekend of warring over whether or not to put the Gujarat CM at the helm of its election affairs for 2014.

Singh had announced his decision to the executive members while wrapping up his valedictory speech. The leaders dispersed in a hurry after the five minute show, as the executive venue burst out with celebrations by Modi supporters who were waiting for the moment.

Interestingly, Venkaiah Naidu clarified the role of the national campaign committee while speaking to the media soon after the announcement. He said, "This (committee) is supplementary to the party, which will gear up the party, mobilize workers, finalize the nitty-gritty of elections alongside the central election committee that decides on the contestants and the parliamentary board for larger decisions in the party."

This seemed to be conveying the message that Modi will not be the only one to decide on everything about the elections for 2014 in BJP, in the context of the fact that his elevation to the central post is being viewed as the precursor to him being projected as the party's prime ministerial candidate for 2014.

Within half an hour of is being named chairman of the campaign panel, a careful Modi got into damage control and tweeted saying he had the blessings of Advani for his new role. Modi tweeted: "Senior leaders have reposed faith in me. We will leave no stone unturned for Congress Mukt Bharat Nirman. Thanks for support and blessings ... Spoke to Advaniji on the phone. He gave me his blessings. Honoured and extremely grateful for his blessings."

The crucial decision was finalized after hectic parleys till late on Saturday night and only after Rajnath Singh spoke to Advani in Delhi over phone to ensure that the party veteran is on board when the announcement is made. Modi and Singh will be meeting Advani at his Prithviraj Road residence in Delhi, soon after they leave Goa.

Source: TOI

NDA will Win Over 300 Seats in 2014 Elections: BJP

Mumbai: Calling the UPA a "minority government" and ruling out the possibility of a Third Front government, the BJP on Tuesday claimed that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would come to power after the 2014 elections.

"Till the time the Left enjoyed power in some states, the possibility of Third Front government did exist. But now, we feel there is no possibility of a Third Front. We totally reject it," party general secretary and newly-appointed in-charge of Maharashtra BJP, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, said at a press conference here.

Criticising the Congress-led UPA government for "corruption and economic crisis", he said, "India has emerged as a failure before the world, be it on foreign policy or diplomatic relations."

"UPA-II is in its last leg. Cracks are developing within the UPA. Their allies like DMK and TMC have withdrawn support. They are no longer a government with 272 clean majority. They are minority government," Rudy claimed.

"We (NDA) will win more than 300 seats in the next general elections. On the strength of our young leadership, we will also form the government in Maharashtra," he said.

Referring to the reported rift between Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rudy alleged, "The PM had never been at the helm of affairs. There have always been differences between 10 Janpath and 7 Race Course Road. As a reason, UPA has never been effective in their 4-year term."

Rudy also alleged that Singh used JPC to wriggle out of the 2G spectrum scam case and is "silent" on sensitive issues like the infiltration of Bangladeshis, threat from Pakistan and Chinese incursion and killing of Indian national Sarabjit Singh in Pakistan's Kot Lakhpat jail by other inmates.

Source: ZeeNews