The BJPs candidate for prime minister is clear,party president Rajnath Singh said on Friday. It is the Congress that must now show its hand,he said. No race for prime ministership,says Rajnath Asked by reporters in Palampur whether the BJP would declare its prime ministerial candidate before the polls,Rajnath said,Yeh sawaal aap Congress se poochhiye. Hamara to clear hai (You ask this question to the Congress. Our choice is clear). Need realist not economist PM like Manmohan: Rajnath At its national executive meeting in Goa in June,the BJP named Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi the chief of its election campaign committee. Last month,it announced an 11-member committee under Modi,and 20 separate panels focused on various aspects of the campaign. Rajnath and other BJP leaders have,however,sidestepped all specific questions on whether Modi will also be the partys candidate for PM. Rajnath was in Palampur to address a training programme of BJP workers. He advised to be united,be focused on maintaining a high level of credibility,and to be prepared for elections. He blamed the Congress for the deep crisis in the country,and called for a Congress-free India. On Thursday,even as Modi and Rajnath met with RSS leaders in New Delhi to take stock of election preparations,Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said in an interview to The Indian Express that there was no need to rush the decision on the PM candidate. The Congress has not announced a candidate. Other parties arent doing it. What is the tearing hurry for the BJP to emerge first on this count? Raman Singh said. PM candidate can also be discussed after the elections are over and the numbers are clear. BJP posters in Madhya Pradesh at the launch of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhans Jan Ashirwad Yatra last month conspicuously did not include pictures of Modi. Chouhan subsequently said,Advaniji is our national leader. For me,Modiji is my elder brother. I respect him a lot and this I have said time and again. He knows the truth and so do I. Such a controversy will make no difference.
