'JD-U not concerned if Modi becomes campaign chief'

The ties between BJP and ally JD-U appear to be fine for now as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said Saturday that he was not concerned if Narendra Modi is made the chief of the BJP's campaign committee.

Sources close to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh said he called the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader and discussed the possibility of appointing Modi as the in-charge of the party's campaign committee.

According to the sources, the Bihar chief minister said he was concerned only with the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP, who would be the face of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Nitish Kumar has vociferously opposed Modi as the NDA's prime ministerial candidate, saying that the Gujarat chief minister does not have "secular credentials".
Modi has been blamed for the 2002 Godhra riots in Gujarat. However, no charges have been proved against him so far.

BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitaraman meanwhile dismissed any discussions with any ally at this point of time.

"There have been no talks with any alliance partners," she said.

Leaders from the party are indicating that a major announcement is likely to come Sunday. However, they refused to divulge any details, but added that leaders of party's parliamentary board may have an informal meeting Saturday night.