The selection of Modi, despite stiff opposition from veterans like Advani and Sushma, as the PM candidate and then centering the entire election campaign on him was a well thought of strategy by the party and its ideological fountainhead RSS.
Modi's opponents may charge him of acquiring larger the party image but the reality is that it's not Modi but the BJP grass root and RSS who want him to come across as the only savior for the nation.
And there are valid political reasons for this. Let's try and understand this.
Everbody knows that BJP had been largely a North India centric party with little base in eastern, north-eastern and southern parts of the country. The party has virtually no presence in large states like West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Karnataka was the gateway for the party in southern India but they created a mess thanks to Yeddyurappa and the not- so- fair role played by Hans Raj Bhardwaj, the Governor who made life difficult for the Lingayat strongman.
Now here was a scenario wherein the party was desperate to control south block but lacked effective organizational structure in politically crucial states.
