GUJARAT Chief Minister Narendra Modi was chosen on Sunday (June 9) to front the main opposition’s campaign for general elections in 2014, boosting his chances of becoming the nation’s next prime minister.
Modi, chief minister of the thriving state for more than a decade, said he was “extremely grateful” for the opportunity to head the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) election panel.
Modi said in a message on his official Twitter account that he would “leave no stone unturned” to defeat the Congress party, which has been in power since 2004.
“Our aim should be a Congress-free India… if we can free this country of the Congress, all our problems will be solved,” Modi said in a post-appointment speech to loud cheers from party workers.
The BJP, the main opposition in parliament, appointed Modi to the post at a meeting in the coastal state of Goa despite some misgivings expressed by his senior colleagues.
“I have today appointed the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi the chairman of the election campaign committee,” BJP president Rajnath Singh told reporters at a meeting of the national executive called to prepare for next May’s vote.
The post is seen as a stepping stone for Modi in his quest to be named the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, despite concerns that he would be seen as a divisive figure over his failure to stop deadly anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002.
Modi has painted himself as a pro-business reformist who can revive the fortunes of the world’s largest democracy.
Congress is hoping for a third straight victory in the elections but its coalition government has been hit by a string of graft scandals and a slump in economic growth.
In his new role Modi will have to canvass for votes around India, forge strategies to attack Congress and build support for his candidacy as premier.
He will need to win the backing of senior BJP members as well as the party’s regional coalition partners before he can gain the candidacy.
Some BJP members have expressed doubts over his ability to steer votes away from the secular Congress, an analyst said.
Modi will need to prove himself in politically important states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in north India, both of which are dominated by regional parties and are home to a significant Muslim population.
Some senior party members stayed away from the meeting in Goa, including Lal Krishna Advani, the 85-year-old BJP veteran who mentored Modi.
Advani, whom officials said was too sick to attend the meeting of some 300 party members, is now opposed to Modi’s elevation.
