'Declaring Modi as BJP's PM candidate will benefit party'

Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha yesterday endorsed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate from the party.

"Wherever I go, common people and party workers say they want Narendra Modi to be the prime ministerial candidate from the BJP and the party will benefit from it," Sinha said.

Unfit? Nitish Kumar's JD(U) has opposed Modi's selection as the prime ministerial candidate of the NDA, saying he lacks secular credentials

"After considering all aspects, I too feel that if BJP declares him as the prime minister candidate it will make a huge difference to the party," he said, adding that this was his personalview.

The BJP has so far maintained silence on the issue. Asked if ally JD(U) would agree to the choice of Modi as the candidate for the top post, Sinha said he was reflecting the mood of the people and that the party's partners should accept it.

However JD(U), the second largest party in the BJP-led NDA, has opposed Modi's selection as the prime ministerial candidate, saying he lacks secular credentials.

"Our party had already made its stand clear on the need for secular credentials for the NDA's prime ministerial candidate. The party will make its stand clear only when the BJP officially announces its PM candidate," said JD(U) MP and party national spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari. u00a0