BJP likely to announce Modi as poll panel chief today

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to make a big announcement on making Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its poll panel chief for the upcoming Assembly elections and the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

All eyes are now on party chief Rajnath Singh's valedictory address today to see if he will announce a Modi promotion at the gathering of 300 leaders.

Singh yesterday promised that everyone will go home happy, energised and enthusiastic.

The announcement is expected a day after a clearly divided BJP could not take any decision on Saturday after strong resistance from party veteran L K Advani and some other senior leaders.

85-year-old Advani has cited 'ill health' as the reason behind not attending the meeting in Panaji.

Advani's absence from the office bearer's meeting in Goa has given a clear indication that he is upset with the proposal of making Modi the face of the party's poll campaign panel. There are even reports in the media quoting him, as insisting that Rajnath Singh should take key party decisions only in his presence.

Some senior BJP leaders are also opposed to Modi being projected as the party's foremost leader. Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh, Uma Bharti, Maneka Gandhi, Varun Gandhi and Shatrughan Sinha are also not attending the Goa conclave.

Modi's detractors fear that his elevation as chief of the party's election committee is just one step away from him being declared the BJP's prime ministerial candidate - a position some of them believe they deserve.