Even as Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was declared the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate for 2014 general election, the BJP and its alliance partners are claiming that half the battle is already won on the basis of “Modi factor”. However, the NCP and Congress have expressed their worry about the elevation of BJP’s radical man.
BJP state president Devendra Fadnavis claimed that the alliance in the state would not face any turmoil, as alliance partners were unanimous on Mr Modi’s candidature. “60 per cent of the country’s population is young and the young generation wants a leader who has commitment, conviction and spine — the embodiment of whom they see in Mr Modi,” claimed Mr Fadnavis.
Senior Shiv Sena leader, Subhash Desai also claimed that the Modi factor would help NDA make a comeback at the Centre and the state.
NCP state executive president Jitendra Awhad, however, was not agreeable with this position. He said, “Mr Modi is the fascist face of BJP.” He also questioned Mr Modi’s slogan of “Congressless Nation”. “How is it possible to have a nation without Congress? Congress is not a party, it is an ideology. Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress are examples of this ideology. Only because of this ideology, the nation is still intact, unbroken and secular,” he said.
State Congress chief Manikrao Thakre concurred with Mr Awhad and said, “Maharashtra is a rationalist state wherein voters always chose a secular party like Congress. Hence, the BJP’s claims are baseless.”
Mr Thakre added, “Mr Modi is the face of RSS and will not be accepted by the nation. Instead, the BJP has made our way easy.”