When asked if it is an attempt to project Modi as a larger than life persona, Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar said, "We have done the campaign of Rajnathji, Advaniji and now Modiji. We will take all our leaders to voters. That is my work and that is what we will do. Governance and development is a key issue and we will campaign on that also."
However, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has compared the BJP to a "leopard" who doesn't change its spots.
Modi, in a recent media interview, had claimed his innocence in the 2002 Gujarat riots and said that he is a "Hindu nationalist" as he is born a Hindu.