After a decade of being confined to his own state, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been included in the core team of leaders to work closely with Lal Krishna Advani, the prime-ministerial candidate of the BJP for the 2009 Lok Sabha election.
His elevation came at the party’s National Council, which concluded its two-day meeting at Nagpur today. Modi, who had so far been looking after Gujarat alone, will now manage the charge of states like Maharashtra and Goa besides the union territories of Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli for the election.
Modi’s emergence as a key BJP strategist comes even as he was being seen by many within the party as a rival to L K Advani. However, Advani, himself had openly praised Modi several times.