Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi extracted the biggest assurance from the Bharatiya Janata Party before allowing Nitin Gadkari to get a second term as BJP president.
Now, there are no ifs and buts.
Modi is set to enter the centre-stage in New Delhi in 2013.
BJP sources claim that before Gadkari received the nod from Modi that he would attend the party national executive meeting in Mumbai, the Gujarat leader's intermediaries secured an assurance that if Modi registered an impressive victory in the state assembly election, scheduled for the winter, then BJP leaders would "invite" Modi to perform a bigger role on the national stage.
In other words, Gadkari's second term as BJP president does not mean he will be the BJP 's prime ministerial candidate.
Party general secretary Sanjay
Joshi's exit was only one of the conditions Modi put forth.
The idea to move Modi to centre-stage next year was debated before Gadkari bowed to Modi's demand and forced Joshi to resign.
Reliable sources in the Sangh Parivar said, "Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj (
the Leaders of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha respectively) are not travelling to nooks and corners of India. They are Delhi-centric leaders. The idea is that by mid-June next year let Modi travel all over the country and build a political atmosphere in favour of the BJP. That would greatly help the party."
In view of the deal struck between Modi and BJP leaders, the assembly election in Gujarat assumes great significance.
Modi will be under tremendous pressure to win the election impressively.