The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday stayed tight-lipped about its leader Lal Kishenchand Advani's remarks that he would be the prime ministerial candidate in the next elections and he does not expect former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to endorse his candidacy.
Senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra parried questions about the party's stand on Advani's comments, saying any decision in this regard would be made only after the telecast of the interview by the television channel.
According to the released excerpts of the interview, Advani remarked that he has become more of a consultant for the BJP now.
Advani, who is understood to be upset with party chief Rajnath Singh for allowing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh a greater role in the BJP, made these comments less than a month after his Sangh-backed successor's re-election to the post.
His comments came ahead of the BJP's national executive council meeting in Lucknow this month to ratify Rajnath Singh's re-election for a full term as party chief.
Asked by the channel that interviewed him whether his PM-in-waiting remarks did not compromise the BJP chief's position, Advani said, "The party would decide what to do with Rajnath Singh."