Modi will contest from Gujarat: BJP leader

Narendra Modi will be contesting the Lok Sabha election from at least one seat in his own state, BJP leaders said Thursday.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, however, did not make it clear if the Gujarat chief minister will also fight from a constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

"I can definitely say that Modiji will fight the elections from one seat in Gujarat," state BJP general secretary Vijay Rupani told reporters.

"There has been a clamour to invite Narendra Modi to fight elections from four main cities of the state - Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara and Surat. Our party workers wish that he should contest from Gujarat," he said.

The decision that Modi should contest from Gujarat was taken after a series of meetings over the last few days.

"Our (state BJP) parliamentary board had met over the last four days where it was finalised that Modi would contest from Gujarat," he said.

However, the decision on which seat he will contest is yet to be taken, he said.

Speculation is rife that Modi would contest from either Varanasi or Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh to strengthen his claim as a national leader.

Asked if party veteran L.K. Advani will be contesting from Gandhinagar, from where he won five times, Rupani said: "The central parliamentary board will decide about it."