Can Modi fulfil his PM dreams with a divided BJP?

The anointment of Narendra Modi as the head of Bharatiya Janata Party’s Election Campaign Committee for 2014 polls clearly indicates that the Gujarat chief minister will perhaps lead the party in 2014 elections.

BJP may have sounded the election bugle but its sound could not repress the noise of internal fights that have exploded within the party because of Modi being appointed as the party’s election campaign head. Many number of senior leaders like LK Advani, Jaswant Singh, Shatrughan Sinha and Uma Bharati expressed disappointment over this decision by not attending the party meeting in Goa in July this year.

BJP may be in the denial mode over these differences but they have surely dented BJP’s image.

A day after BJP endorsed Modi as the leader of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Advani resigned from his post accusing most of party leaders of chasing “personal agendas”. However later he withdrew his resignation and accepted the decision of the parliamentary board, but it was quite apparent that the party senior most and mentor of Modi, was irked with this sudden decision.

Another blow came to BJP, when their 17-year-old alliance with Janata Dal (United) broke as Bihar chief and JD (U) president Nitish Kumar clearly snubbed the decision of Modi being the likely prime ministerial candidate for 2014 elections.

After almost nine years of UPA’s rule, the country is reeling under the impact of rising inflation, downgrading economy and unending corruption. The public wants a new party to take charge of the country. It is also true that large sections of people are willing to see Manmohan Singh as the next Prime Minister, who can deliver growth and development. However, at the same time, many people also view his ‘model of growth’ with a profound sense of doubt.

After BJP’s unparalleled success in Gujarat, the party may appoint him as the prime-ministerial candidate in 2014 general elections to root out the ruling Congress party. But to shape this dream of theirs, BJP needs to woo voters from every section. Many questions are still left unanswered as to will Modi be able to gain votes from every section of the society without the involvement of senior leaders of his party or can a team with differences that does not believe their captain win the 2014 elections?