Narendra Modi, strong but controversial Gujarat Chief Minister, was on Friday named Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls despite stiff opposition from party patriarch L K Advani.

The self-avowed Hindu nationalist, four days short of his turning 63 years, was anointed at a meeting here of the 12-member BJP Parliamentary Board which a sulking Advani skipped.

The announcement was made by BJP chief Rajnath Singh the meeting which was attended by Murli Manohar Joshi and Sushma Swaraj, who too were said to be opposed to Modi's project at this juncture but finally toed the majority line.

Accepting the party decision, Modi gave a slogan "nayi soch, nayi ummeed" (new thinking, new hope) and said the BJP will go the 2014 polls with the plank of good governance and development while fighting against corruption and price rise.

He said the country is going through a "crisis" and BJP would require blessings of people from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Attock to Cuttack so that this situation ends.

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