New Delhi: 7:35 pm: BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi reaches LK Advani's residence
7:11 pm: Janata Dal united chief Sharad Yadav says, "The JDU always knew Modi would be projected as the prime ministerial candidate., so we parted ways." After Modi was anointed as party's poll chief, the JDU broke its 17 years old alliance with the BJP.
7:07 pm: BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy says Rajnath Singh has fulfilled the dreams of lakhs of party supporters.
7:06 pm: BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi says with Modi's projection as the prime minister candidate, the BJP has got a direction for 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
7:05 pm: BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad says Modi is the most popular leader in the country. He adds Advani is our national leader and he has formed the party.
6:54 pm: Former BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa says, "Modis' experience as the Gujarat Chief Minister has enriched him as the prime ministerial candidate."
6:52 pm: Sushma Swaraj says, "I am happy with the decision. Modi will meet Advani to seek his blessings."
6:52 pm: Congress leader Kapil Sibal says, "Some people want to advance Diwali celebrations, we will celebrate Diwali when time comes."
6:51 pm: Sacked BJP leader and eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani says, "Country's destiny is in Modi's hand. That is why I am happy with the decision."
6:44 pm: TMC sources say, "Modi's anointment completely internal matter of the BJP. Neither Modi nor Rahul Gandhi are going to become the prime minister. Next prime minister would be chosen from amongst the regional party."
6:40 pm: Rajnath Singh says all the allies have endorsed the decision and extended their support to Modi's candidature.
6:39 pm: LK Advani writes a letter to Rajnath Singh expressing disappointment at the way party is functioning. "I spoke to you about my dilemma and also expressed my disappointment at the way BJP is functioning. I have decided that I will not come for the Parliamentary Board meeting."
6:39 pm: Modi assures the party of victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He says, "I assure everyone I will work hard for BJP's victory in 2014 elections."
6:38 pm: Modi says he has always got blessings from Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani. "I express my gratitude to even the smallest party worker," said Modi.
6:37 pm: Modi says, "BJP has always given me opportunity to serve the nation. The party has given a chance to an ordinary person like me a very important responsibility. I am a very small worker who comes from from a very ordinary family."
6:36 pm: Modi addresses meet says, "I had worked as an ordinary worker in the BJP at various levels."
6:33 pm: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray says, "We welcome Narendra modi as party's PM candidate to defeat a corrupt Congress in the elections."
6:32 pm: Party leaders congratulate Modi after he was anointed as the party's prime ministerial candidate.
6:31 pm: Rajnath Singh says Modi will go to Advani's residence to seek his blessings.
6:29 pm: Rajnath says BJP has decided to name Modi as its prime ministerial candidate
6:28 pm: Rajnath Singh says it is the ritual of the BJP to announce its prime ministerial candidate before Lok Sabha elections.
6:24 pm: Sources say Advani had stepped into his car and then suddenly decided not to go to attend Parliamentary Board meeting.
6:20 pm: Narendra Modi arrives as the BJP headquarters for the meeting where he is likely to be anointed as party's prime ministerial candidate.
6:03 pm: CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury on Modi's elevation says, "What BJP does is its own internal matter."
6:01 pm: BJP Parliamentary Board meeting starts.
5:55 pm: Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj arrives at the party headquarters for the BJP Parliamentary Board meeting. She was one of the leaders who opposed Modi's candidature.
5:51 pm: Senior party leader Murli Manohar Joshi says announcement on Modi's PM candidature has to be made as every member of BJP Parliamentary Board is behind him. He was one of the senior leaders who was opposing the decision to announce Modi's candidature before state Assembly elections.
5:42 pm: LK Advani decides to skip BJP Parliamentary Board meeting where Modi is to be anointed as party's prime ministerial candidate.
5:29 pm: Narendra Modi reaches Gujarat Bhawan.
5:13 pm: Rajanth Singh along with other senior party leaders arrive at the BJP office for the meeting.
5:03pm: In a last minute effort to convince LK Advani, Narendra Modi heads towards his residence ahead of BJP Parliamentary Board meeting. Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh leaves his residence along with Ananth Kumar for the meeting.
4:52 pm: Celebration in BJP offices in Delhi, Mumbai before announcement on Narendra Modi's candidature. Meanwhile, Modi arrives in Delhi ahead of BJP Parliamentary Board meeting.
4:43 pm: Narendra Modi will meet former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at 7:30 pm on Friday. Meanwhile, meetings are going on between Nitin Gadkari and Rajnath Singh.
4:13 pm: The BJP Parliamentary Board meet will be held at 5.30 pm today to announce Narendra Modi's prime ministerial candidature.
3:40 pm: The meeting between Rajnath Singh and LK Advani has ended.
3:22 pm: Narendra Modi has left for Delhi from Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh met LK Advani to convince him on Modi.
2:15 pm: The meeting at Advani's residence is over. Sushma Swaraj, while leaving from Advani's house, said that there is no no official communication about a Parliamentary board meeting yet and that meetings are still on.
2:10 pm: Akali Dal leader Naresh Gujral has confirmed that party chief Parkash Singh Badal has also received a call from Rajnath Singh that Modi will be BJP's PM candidate.
2:06 pm: Akali Dal leader Naresh Gujral has said that the NDA stands united over Modi's PM candidature. "In politics differences don't last for long. Everyone will fall in line, NDA stands united," Gujral said.
1:52 pm: A BJP source said that LK Advani has informed Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh that he will not be interested in working for the party if Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is projected as the party's prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
1:49 pm: BJP President Rajnath Singh also called Shiromani Akali Dal chief Parkash Singh Badal and informed him that Narendra Modi will be the party's prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The formal announcement on Modi will be made by the BJP leadership at 5 pm on Friday.
1:48 pm: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said Rajnath Singh had discussed Narendra Modi's candidature with Uddhav Thackeray about 10 minutes back. "Rajnath Singhji informed Uddhav Thackeray of the decision on PM candidate they are planning to take. He has informed Uddhavji about the decision BJP is planning to take and sought our support," he said.
1:43 pm BJP President Rajnath Singh calls Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to inform him that BJP is nominating Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate.
1:16 pm: Nitin Gadkari has once again reached Advani's residence to meet him with Sushma Swaraj.
12:57 pm: Narendra Modi is set to leave Ahmedabad for Delhi at 3 pm.
12:32 pm: Sources say that Rajnath Singh insists that the BJP Parliamentary Board will meet at 5 pm today and name Narendra Modi as its PM candidate even as Advani remains defiant.
12:19 pm: After meeting Advani, Nitin Gadkari along with Ananth Kumar has reached Sushma Swaraj's residence.
12:11 pm: Nitin Gadkari's meeting with LK Advani has ended.
12:08 pm: BJP Vice President CP Thakur has said, "I think BJP's PM candidate should be announced today. I have heard that Advani has agreed to Modi."
11:35 am: Sources have told CNN-IBN that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has also refused Rajnath Singh's request to come to Delhi.
10:55 am: BJP Spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said that party president Rajnath Singh is in a discussion with the parliamentary board members and the announcement will be made after the party takes a decision. He also maintained that the BJP is united. "We unlike other parties take a decision after discussing and consulting everyone," Hussain said.
The 12 members of BJP Parliamentary Board are Rajnath Singh, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, M Venkaiah Naidu, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Narendra Modi, Ananth Kumar, Thawarchand Gehlot and Ramlal.
10:41 am: "We would support Narendra Modi. Modi has a large support in the masses. We will support whoever BJP announces as their PM candidate. If we have to wipe out the Congress we have to increase the NDA strength," Sena leader Sanjay Raut said.
"Advaniji is like the Bhishma Pitamah in politics. We have always taken his guidance," he added.
10:31 am: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray spoke to Narendra Modi on Thursday night to wish him good luck. The Shiv Sena has said that it backs Modi as PM candidate.
10:26 am: Nitin Gadkari has reached LK Advani's residence yet again to meet him after meeting Rajnath Singh. BJP leader Muralidhar Rao also met Advani.
10:10 am: Last ditch efforts are being made to convince BJP leader LK Advani over Narendra Modi's PM candidature. Sources says Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj are likely to meet Advani on Friday. Nitin Gadkari met Rajnath Singh and conveyed to him the feelings of the RSS. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is adamant that Modi must be made PM candidate, but efforts must be made to placate Advani.
The deadlock over the anointment of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the Bharatiya Janata Party's Prime Ministerial candidate remains. Questions are now being raise as to whether the BJP's Parliamentary board will meet on Friday evening as sources in the Advani camp say they haven't been notified of any meeting yet.
Sources say the anti-Modi camp is insisting on three conditions that if he is declared the PM candidate, he must give up the Gujarat chief ministership. They also want someone else to replace him as the head of the BJP election campaign committee. They say one man cannot hold three posts at the same time and they must take everyone along in decision-making.
Former party chief Nitin Gadkari has been playing the role of peace-maker and will make one more attempt to resolve the issue with Advani as party president Rajnath Singh's emissary on Friday morning.
Sources had earlier said that BJP President Rajnath Singh has finally decided to bite the bullet on Modi's anointment, calling the Parliamentary board to anoint Modi as the party's PM candidate despite protests from Advani and Sushma Swaraj.
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj has cancelled her trip to Ambala that was scheduled for Friday morning with indications that she along with Advani may attend the reported Parliamentary board meet to register dissent against Modi's elevation.
This is something the party would have wanted to avoid at this point in time. The division in the board could give enough ammunition to BJP adversaries to question Modi's acceptability.
Hectic parleys though continued past midnight to placate and reach out to Advani, the patriarch whose dissent it seems will be overlooked once again. Sources say the midnight meeting failed to break the deadlock.
Rajnath Singh had on Thursday denied reports of differences within the party. He said, "There is no problem at all within the BJP. It is wrong to say there are differences within the party." For the past three days, there was a speculation that with Modi coming to Delhi on Friday, his anointment would take place on the same day. But despite being isolated within the party, Advani is unlikely to go down without a fight even as several leaders have openly said that the BJP needs Modi's leadership.
Advani has reportedly conveyed to Rajnath that announcing Modi's name at this stage could adversely impact the party's performance in the Assembly polls in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh later in 2013.
Both Advani and Sushma are insisting that the decision on Modi's candidature should be taken after state polls. Even Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan is against nominating Modi before Assembly polls. Sources say Murli Manohar Joshi will not be a hurdle in Modi's way.
Comments
0 comment