State general secretary of Janata Dal (Secular) Basanagouda Patil Yatnal has spoken in favour of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi being named the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, going against the stand taken by his party.
He told presspersons in Talikot town on Tuesday that people should support and vote for Mr. Modi.
Mr. Yatnal described Mr. Modi as a good administrator. Responding to the direction of Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to State governments to ensure that no innocent Muslim was arrested on charges of terrorism, Mr. Yatnal said that by passing such statements, Mr. Shinde was trying to divide the nation.
Meanwhile, the open endorsement of Mr. Yatnal to the candidature of Mr. Modi for the post of PM has been seen a clear indicator of his efforts to rejoin the BJP, the party from which he was sacked.
Following his defeat in the last Assembly elections on JD(S) ticket, speculations were rife in political circles that Mr. Yatnal was trying to rejoin the BJP.
Mr. Yatnal could not be reached.
