BJP,JDU play down Sushma as PM remark

In an interview to his partys mouthpiece,Saamna,Thackeray had said that Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj was a deserving candidate for the PMs post.

The BJP on Sunday found itself on the backfoot with one of its oldest alliance partners Sena making public its choice that came to be seen as its rejection of other potential candidates.

While Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has imposed the condition of a secular person from the BJP for NDAs PM candidate,Thackerays assertion was seen as an adverse remark against Gujarat CM Narendra Modi.

However,the JDU on Monday sought to play down Thackerays remarks echoing similar sentiments as that of the BJP,saying that the Lok Sabha elections were far away and a decision on this issue will be taken in consultation with the alliance partners.

The general elections will happen in 2014. Polls are not going to take place before that. We will decide it then. The BJP is the leading party in the NDA. It will decide within its party first and then it will be discussed in the NDA, JDU chief Sharad Yadav said in an attempt to steer clear from getting drawn into the merits of Thackerays suggestions.

Thackeray is a senior person. Many others have also given statements on this issue. It is getting too much now. The PMs post seems to have become a pakodi snack. We have never fallen into this trap nor will we ever do so, Yadav said.