No decision on Modi's projection as PM candidate: Gadkari

BJP President Nitin Gadkari today said he has discussed the issue of NDA Prime Ministerial candidate with ally and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and assured him that no decision has yet been taken on Narendra Modi being the party's choice for the top post.

"I told him (Nitish Kumar) that we have not taken a decision on it (Prime Ministerial candidate). I told him that you are a part of NDA and when we in NDA decide who should be the candidate, we will discuss it with you too. Till then, discussing it is irrelevant," Gadkari told NDTV.

He was replying to a question on Kumar's objection to Modi being NDA's Prime Ministerial candidate.

"If his and our ideology was the same, would not we be one party? He has a right to differ," Gadkari said.

However, Gadkari indicated Kumar and his party JD(U) are not likely to go with Congress when he said the Bihar Chief Minister is a follower of Ram Manohar Lohia, a staunch critic of Congress.

Asked about Team Anna's movement and its decision to form a political party, Gadkari said "our alternative cannot be Anna Hazare. The alternative to one political party is another party. The alternative to Congress is BJP."

He maintained Team Anna has a right to form a party but said Anna is not a politician. "He is a social worker," he said.

Gadkari said BJP had extended support to Team Anna during their last agitation but did not do so this time as they had not sought the party's support.