Don't want any ally to leave, says Rajnath Singh

New Delhi, April 17 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not want any ally to leave the NDA, party president Rajnath Singh said Wednesday as speculation mounts over the future of its ties with the Janata Dal-United (JD-U).

"This crisis is unfortunate. We would never want any ally to leave. Allies have different ideologies, there can be issue-based differences," Rajnath Singh told journalists at the Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC).

Differences between the BJP and JD-U, over Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's possible candidature as prime minister, are out in the open. Though the BJP has not made any official announcement about its prime ministerial candidate for the next Lok Sabha polls, Modi is widely perceived to be the party's man for the top job.

The JD-U, led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has made its position clear and said it would only back a secular person for the job. It has also demanded that the BJP declare its candidate.

"We will sit and talk with JD-U and sort the issues," Rajnath Singh said.

On Wednesday, the Shiv Sena also echoed the JD-U position and said the BJP must clarify its stance on the issue.

In a strongly worded editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamna, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said the BJP had the right to nominate its candidate for prime minister but it could not take a unilateral decision on the issue.