Modi's stature similar to Vajpayee's, says Advani

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, seen by some as a prime ministerial candidate of the BJP in future, came in for high praise on Sunday from the party’s current prime ministerial candidate LK Advani.

Advani, who put Modi in charge of the party's election campaign in Maharashtra and other states of western India, compared him with BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee. "A journalist once asked me if Narendra Modi was becoming larger than the party," Advani said. "I replied that if a family member is becoming more popular than the head of the family, then it is a proud moment for the entire family.

"The same was once said about (former prime minister) Vajpayee," Advani recalled.

He said some people had called Modi a "merchant of death" and dared him to win the assembly elections in Gujarat in the face of an international campaign against him, but he won.