Varanasi/New Delhi:
Who will be the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate in 2014? The question has been asked many times over ever since the party's senior-most leader LK Advani set off on his Jan Chetna yatra.
Is he a contender? No, Mr Advani told NDTV in an exclusive interview, he was not on the yatra as a contender for the PM's post. But the final decision would be that of the party and he does not see the need to rule himself out.
"I am not a contender for the Prime Minister's post. Infact, even in 2009, when the party said you'll be the candidate, I wasn't a contender. Infact my party's own displeasure with me had started a few months back, and yet, I was chosen. I am not a contender. But at the same time if people say, that you must say I will not become Prime Minister, I see no reason, "Mr Advani said in what is his clearest statement yet on the controversy.
Mr Advani's statements came on Day 3 of his 38-day yatra. It was also a day when Uma Bharti shared the stage with him in Varanasi. She made a clear reference to him as candidate for PM in 2014, saying all those who had started their yatras in Varanasi became Prime Minister.
Mr Advani pointed out that it was not known when the next election would be. "They may come three years hence. I do not know I may not be in fit condition. It depends on a lot of factors. Besides that, when I say there are very many leaders in the party who can fit the bill, who can do justice to the job, I'm not saying this as mere rhetoric. It's there. See how well the leaders in the two Houses (of Parliament) are conducting themselves."
The BJP leader rubbished reports that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) did not back his yatra. He said he had personally clarified the matter with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat when he went to meet him in Nagpur. "Mohan Bhagwat clearly told me the RSS supports my yatra," he said.
He was also dismissive of his much-publicised differences with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi pointing out that, "I think Modi wrote the blog supporting me after misleading media reports."