Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha has said there are many "capable" prime ministerial candidates in the party, including himself, but a decision on whether or not to project anybody for the coveted post would be taken before the Lok Sabha elections.
Sinha also sought to downplay reports of differences between BJP leader L K Advani and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
"It's merely a media creation and nobody is talking so within the BJP," the former Union minister told PTI on the reported tussle between Advani and Modi because of their perceived ambitions for prime ministership.
"Since the debate within the Congress is gaining ground that AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi could take over the mantle from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before completion of the present term of the UPA ministry, the media, in a balancing act, has created a similar plot in the BJP too," he said.
Asked whether Advani or Modi was a better candidate for the PM's post, Sinha said there were many leaders in the BJP capable of occupying the PM's post.
He, however, did not identify any of them.
On whether he could also be a candidate, the former finance minister said, "Why not? Does anybody have any doubts about my capability?"
He said the party would decide close to the elections about who should be projected as the prime ministerial candidate.
When pointed out that Advani's rath yatra was seen as linked to his ambitions for the PM's post, Sinha sought to emphasise that the two were not linked.
Describing the yatra as a political movement against corruption, he said it should not be seen from the narrow prism of "Modi-versus-Advani" tussle.
He also supported the timing of the launch of the yatra, which began from socialist leader Jayprakash Narayan's native place in Sitabdiara in Bihar.
"The timing and venue for the start of the rath yatra from Sitabdiara of Advaniji is perfectly timed," Sinha said, adding there could not have been a more auspicious date than JP's birth anniversary for launching a campaign like this.
