'Discussed Gujarat CM with Nitish, will keep him in loop'

Dismissing reports of a split in the NDA on the issue of its prime ministerial candidate, BJP president Nitin Gadkari today said Narendra Modi is one among the six BJP leaders who could be projected for the top political post and that any decision would be taken only after consulting Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who is a key ally.

"I have promised Nitish Kumar he will be consulted before a decision is taken. I have discussed at length the Modi issue with Nitish. At an appropriate time, we'll decide on the PM candidate and that will happen only after talks with Nitish Kumar," Gadkari said in an interview to a news channel.

He said that as far as he was concerned, there was no problem with Nitish or Modi being projected as the face of NDA in the 2014 elections.

"Modi is one of the six PM candidates of BJP along with Advani, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and M M Joshi. No decision has been taken yet," he said.

The BJP chief also refuted reports that after Gujarat Assembly elections this year-end, Modi will be projected as chairman of national campaign committee of NDA.

Asked if Nitish's choice for PM is Advani, he said, "I don't know what is on Nitish's mind regarding Advani. He has not mentioned any name to me."

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