Party workers say CM has a good chance as he has performed well.
It is widely believed in state BJP circles that chief minister Narendra Modi is set to play an important role in the party at the national level, as he may succeed Rajnath Singh as party president.
Speculation about a national role for the Gujarat chief minister intensified after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat indicated in an interview that the next national president of the BJP will not be from Delhi.
Bhagwat’s statement came at a time when the saffron party had trouble keeping order in its own house after its defeat in the recent assembly polls in three states.
The electoral setback was followed by revolt in the Karnataka unit of the party against chief minister K Yeddyurappa. The conflict in Karnataka BJP has now been resolved.
After its humiliating defeat in Lok Sabha polls, the BJP’s national leadership was unable to keep rebellious elements in check. It was then that the RSS started calling the shots even within the BJP.
In the interview mentioned above, Bhagwat was reported as saying that the next BJP president will neither be Arun Jaitley nor Sushma Swaraj. The RSS chief had ruled out the names of Anant Kumar and Venkaiya Naidu too. “The next party president may be from outside Delhi,” Bhagwat is reported as saying.
With the RSS chief ruling out the most likely candidates for the post of BJP president, Modi supporters in the Gujarat unit of the party have been saying that the state’s chief minister is going to be play a national role in the party.
“If Bhagwat has ruled out the most favoured candidates for the top party post, then Modi is ahead of all other aspirants,” said a senior leader of the state BJP. “Another person also in reckoning for the post of party president is former chief minister of Goa, Manohar Panicker.”
The BJP leader further said that Modi had done well as the national general secretary of the BJP. “And after returning to Gujarat, he has given ample proof of his ability to run the administration well as also to hold the party together,” he said.
Another BJP source said the possibility of Modi becoming the party president could not be ruled out. “He may even become the Leader of Opposition in parliament,” the source said. “Some factions of the party believe that Modi is the national face of the BJP. Some senior party leaders see in him the future prime minister of the country.”
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