BJP sets eyes on 270+ as Rajnath issues gag order

State units told to talk in one voice and desist from passing resolution on Narendra Modi

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has donned the battle gear for contest 2014 by calling it a mission 272+, setting its sights on getting past the majority number on its own in the Lok Sabha.

Guided in part by ambition and partially by alliance compulsions, the BJP leaders sense a major opportunity as they sniff an anti-Congress mood in the country.

All the senior leaders -- Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and the two prime ministerial hopefuls, L K Advani and Narendra Modi -- guided the deliberations.

This high level conclave attended by chiefs of all the state units came after a daylong workshop for the party’s media spokespersons that was again guided by all the senior leaders, except Advani. At both the events, Modi got the star billing as the key speaker and the media briefings were dominated by quotes from him.

Ironically one of the messages emerging from these sessions -- that the party should speak in one voice -was identical to the one conveyed by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to his party functionaries at a similar interaction.

But this stipulation comes into the picture, more when it is violated, rather than when it is implemented.

Acutely aware of the discordant voices within the party, BJP president Rajnath Singh has issued a virtual gag order to state units, asking them to desist from passing any resolution demanding that Modi be declared the Prime Ministerial candidate. A decision on this issue will be taken after consulting all top leaders, Singh declared. The directive was given at the meeting of the election campaign committee in Modi’s presence.

The BJP chief's gag order came against the backdrop of a resolution passed by the party's Bihar unit urging the Central Parliamentary Board to

Immediately declare Modi as the prime ministerial candidate. Singh also

chided Sushil Modi, leader of Opposition in the Bihar Vidhan Parishad, for passing the resolution.

Singh said he is aware of his responsibilities and knows what decisions he needs to take and when to take them, party sources said. The BJP does not wish to scare away prospective

allies by naming Modi as its nominee at this juncture, explained sources. The BJP has set up 20 different committees that are expected to put the entire organisation into battle gear. Modi stressed that these committees should do intensive work and get into various details. But the most important agenda set for the party organisation is to tap the first time voters and ensure that they reach the polling booth. Modi also reportedly told party leaders that Muslims in Gujarat had voted for the BJP not only in the Assembly elections but also in the local body elections and if efforts are made, the success can be replicated in the General Elections, too.