The decision to make Mr. Modi the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate was taken during the Assembly elections earlier this year and veteran leader L.K. Advani himself was keen on making an announcement after the polls. But the party felt that the declaration would divert attention from issues related to the States where the polls were held, senior leader Venkaiah Naidu said at a press conference here on Sunday.
“In a democracy, many decisions are taken at an appropriate time. This was also the case with Mr. Modi. In our party, decisions are not taken by a single person but by the party,” he said.
“We will use the social media to reach out to more and more people, especially the youth. It’s our endeavour that more and more people join us, and, therefore, we are going to even tap into the huge NRI population and ask them to join us,” he said.
Asked about Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose Janata Dal (United) severed ties with the BJP, Mr. Naidu said the BJP sympathised with him. “What he did to us was wrong. One can see a fall in his popularity. The BJP feels sympathetic towards him.”
