The declaration of Narendra Modi as BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate today created euphoria among the rank and file but party patriarch L K Advani played a spoilsport which soured the mood of the cadre.
Out of power for nearly ten years, the mood was one of celebration in BJP. While crackers and drums are customary in the BJP headquarters at Ashoka Road here whenever an announcement of a assembly election victory or appointment of some leader to a key post is made, the enthusiasm seen today has not been witnessed in recent years.
Chants of "Modi, Modi", "Jai Shri Ram", and "Hamara neta kaisa ho, Narendra Modi jaisa ho" rent the air.
Most of all, the second rung of BJP central leadership had a big smile on their faces and many expressed satisfaction that the anointment has finally been done.
Even the seniormost leaders clamoured to stand behind Modi so that they are seen on the media.
Modi's gesture of touching the feet of Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi also won him admirers. The two leaders were opposed to the declaration of his name as PM candidate before the assembly elections to Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi.
However, Advani's decision to skip the Parliamentary Board meeting spoiled the party to some degree for Modi and the top brass.
Modi did his bit by eulogising Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Advani for building the party through the years. He later visited the two leaders to seek their blessings.
Asked about Advani not attending the Parliamentary Board meeting, BJP General Secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy said "he is a father figure to us. He is a guardian who has shaped the party. We would have been happy had he been a part of it.
