NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh has asked BJP to clear the decks for formally announcing Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial nominee by sounding out members of the party parliamentary board.

The announcement is expected to be timed well ahead of the forthcoming round of assembly elections due in November so that any lingering doubt over BJP's PM candidate is stubbed out and the party campaign gains a sharper focus.

The RSS green signal came during detailed discussions between Sangh seniors — general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi, joint general secretary Suresh Soni, Dattatray Hosbole and Krishan Gopal — and BJP leaders here on Thursday.

BJP was represented at the meeting by party chief Rajnath Singh , leaders of opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley besides Modi.

The decision to move ahead with Modi's anointment as PM nominee came as Sangh leaders felt a further delay will not prove beneficial and BJP will gain by completing the formality of the parliamentary board endorsing the CM.

Now Singh is expected to sound out members of the board including party senior L K Advani – who had opposed Modi's elevation as chair of BJP's campaign committee – about RSS's point of view and complete consultations.

Speaking in Palampur in Himachal Pradesh on Friday, Singh all but said Modi will the party's PM bet. "Our choice of Prime Ministerial candidate is obvious and it is now the turn of Congress to make its choice clear," he said.

The announcement is also considered necessary to stem continued carping by some leaders and factions as seen in Patna Saheb MP Shatrughan Sinha 's repeated assertion that Modi was not the best choice for PM as his candidature would polarize the election.

Sinha's advocacy in favour of Advani remaining a central figure in party matters is seen to reflect the ire of leaders who remain unreconciled to the inevitability of Modi's projection as PM.

The MP's outbursts forced former finance minister Yashwant Sinha to dissociate himself from the remarks. Shatrughan Sinha is close to the former minister who has in the past been seen to have batted for Advani.

The decision to move ahead with the Modi-for-PM formulation reflects a strong consensus in the Sangh that the saffron strongman is BJP's best bet to challenge Congress in the Lok Sabha polls despite his polarizing effect.

Modi's projection matches the sentiment of the BJP cadre that is overwhelmingly in favour of the leader with other contenders a poor second.

So far, Modi has not waited for a formal endorsement and used both party platforms and other high profile events like addressing college audiences to directly reach out to voters. He has presented himself as a modernizer adept at connecting with the youthful voter.

Elements of Modi's strategy are clear enough as he aims to take on Congress frontally on UPA-2's perceived governance failures and blending a Hindutva message by targeting the ruling party over its "secular politics".

