Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh on Saturday lauded Gujarat’s Narendra Modi as the most popular Chief Minister.
Speaking at the party’s national council meet, Singh hailed Modi as the first CM belonging to the party, who has registered three consecutive victories.
All countries are talking about Modi’s development model, said Singh, who also asked party workers to give the Gujarat CM a standing ovation.
The BJP president added that other chief ministers belonging to the party are also doing good job in their respective states.
Singh also defended his predecessor Nitin Gadkari, saying the allegations against the former BJP president were completely false and baseless.
On Friday also, Modi came in for special praise at BJP’s national executive meeting.
In his speech, party chief Rajnath Singh termed the atmosphere favourable for the party in the next General Elections. Modi came in for repeated praise in Singh’s speech, signalling he may be accorded a national role. There have been demands from within the BJP that Modi should be declared prime ministerial candidate, effectively pitching him against Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.
Senior party leader Arun Jaitley said there was growing interest in Narendra Modi as a PM candidate due to a groundswell in popular support.
“There’s a growing interest in Modi as the PM candidate. This is due to a groundswell in support building up among the people,” Jaitley later told a TV channel.
“When there was a media blitzkrieg against him, he had the strength to survive by addressing audiences over the heads of the media. There are few Indian politicians who have the courage to do that. I think Modi has made a huge mark on Indian polity,” Jaitley added.
—IANS