New Delhi, March 2
The BJP and its leaders today turned the spotlight on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi by showering special praise on him for becoming the first person in the party to win an election in a state for the third time in a row.

Leading the brigade, newly-appointed BJP chief Rajnath Singh walked an extra length to single out Modi for the distinction, but later attempted to temper his exuberance by suggesting to two other party Chief Ministers — Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh and Shivraj Singh Chauhan of Madhya Pradesh — that they too were on the threshold of achieving it.

Clearly, the BJP top brass appeared inclined to keep Modi in good humour as all the delegates at the National Council - leaders on the dais and those who assembled in the Talkatora Indoor Stadium-stood up to give a standing ovation to the Gujarat Chief Minister after Rajnath Singh suggested it was the way.

That the BJP chief decided to garland Modi amid applause from the delegates could be taken as an acknowledgement by the party of the achievement in Gujarat but coming as it did in the backdrop of the clamour within the party to project the Gujarat Chief Minister as the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate, its significance was too obvious to be drowned in the loud applause.

On his part, Rajnath Singh underscored that doing an encore in Gujarat comes on top of the heap of praises for the development in Gujarat now acknowledged not just by the state but recognised by the world. He cited instances of how members of the European Union and the US Congress made mention of work done by the Modi government.

Public demonstration apart, the BJP maintains that the Parliamentary Party will at an appropriate time finalise who should be projected as its candidate for the top most political job in the country, but the manner in which party leaders are beating the drums indicates that Modi and his band of supporters are determined to clinch the issue sooner than latter.

The two-day National Council ending Sunday is scheduled to ratify the election of Rajnath Singh as the new party chief and give him the flexibility to chose a team that has the onerous task of preparing the organisation for assembly elections in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and possibly Jharkhand this year while the delegates hope to hear Modi speak on the concluding day.