BJP chief Rajnath Singh speaking to NDTV
BJP president
Rajnath Singh today made it clear that he will not be part of a government led by
Narendra Modi if the party comes to power after the national election.
"I am the president of the party. My responsibilities have been fixed beforehand. When I wasn't the president, I was in the government. My responsibilities are already decided and I think, in the BJP, I have many colleagues who are capable who should be given a chance in the government," Mr Singh told NDTV.
The BJP president said only Narendra Modi has "the moral authority" in the party to become prime minister and run the government.
"No matter what happens, under any circumstance, Narendra Modi will be India's PM. I want to clarify this as the president of the party. Because just by sitting in an office, people can't run a government," he said.
Opinion polls say the BJP is heading towards being the single largest party, and its National Democratic Alliance making it to the majority mark in the Lok Sabha. A confident Rajnath Singh said, "Looking at the atmosphere in this country now, I'm of the opinion that the BJP-led NDA may get more than 300 seats and the BJP can get a clear majority - around 272 seats." (
NDTV opinion poll: BJP and allies cross 272 mark)
Mr Singh said he did not think
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's aggressive campaign posed a serious challenge to the BJP or Mr Modi.
"They (the Congress) have been in power for very long and it seems they are not going to remain in power - so they have gone into depression and when a person is in depression, he or she has no control over what they say. We shouldn't take it very seriously. I don't think anyone is a threat for the BJP. We believe in positive politics... we have amity towards all, we don't believe in politics of revenge." (
'Attack Modi strategy, dilute Rahul result': Arun Jaitley taunts Priyanka Gandhi Vadra)
Priyanka, 42, is not contesting the elections - she is managing the campaigns of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. She has attacked the BJP and Mr Modi every day in her speeches in Raebareli and Amethi, the constituencies of her mother Congress president Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul Gandhi, who is the party number 2.