Sushma best choice for PM from BJP: Thackeray

Thackeray said there is a long queue of people aspiring to become PM of the country

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has said Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj is best suited from among BJP leaders for the Prime Ministers post.

In the last of a three-part interview published in party mouthpiece Saamna on Sunday,Thackeray said there is a long queue of people aspiring to become PM of the country but none of them thinks about the progress of the country. Speaking to Saamna editor Sanjay Raut,Thackeray said,I have said this in the past that at present there is only one person who is intelligent,brilliant and that is Sushma Swaraj. In my opinion she is a deserving candidate, he said.

Thackeray also expressed disappointment over L K Advanis comment that the next government may be formed by a third or fourth non-NDA,non-UPA front.

Advani is nine months younger to me,and yet I find it difficult to say anything about him. I do not understand why they say such things8230;let it be, Thackeray said.

The BJP,which has been dithering over the issue despite jostling among senior leaders,sought to play down Thackerays remark,saying there were many capable and competent leaders within the saffron ranks to lead the country.

We have a lot of capable leaders who can become the Prime Minister. Our existence is not dependent on a single family and,therefore,different people see different leaders in our party who can lead the country in these difficult times. And we welcome what Balasaheb has said, party spokesperson Balbir Punj said.

BJP has many leaders who are competent to become the Prime Minister and acceptable in the country8230;. Decision on this will be taken by the BJP and other NDA partners at- the time of elections, BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.

Story continues below this ad

The Sena chiefs comments come close on the heels of his recent meeting with Swaraj who was in Mumbai over the coal block allocations scam and had paid Thackeray a visit to inquire about his health.

Dismissing the names of Mulayam Singh Yadav,Sharad Pawar,Mayawati and Jayalalithaa as likely PM candidates,Thackeray said,Those people who only have the power of the chair cannot do anything for the country.

Apart from upsetting the fragile peace within the BJP,the Sena chiefs remark is an indication,after JDU leader Nitish Kumars secular credentials for PM candidate comments,to nudge the saffron party to wake up to the leadership issue well in time.

Reacting to the Sena chief interview,Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said,The larger NDA suffers from a unique malady of anointing prime ministers without awaiting for peoples verdict8230;. The NDA/BJP should not count their chickens before they hatch. With PTI