Modi fans shout slogans against Rajnath

Fans were angry with the BJP president as they felt he didnot adequately credit the Gujarat chief minister for the party's victory.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh invited the ire of Narendra Modi's supporters who were upset that he did not adequately credit the Gujarat chief minister for the party's victory.

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Even as it became clear that Modi had led the BJP to a great electoral win, Rajnath Singh sought to emphasise in New Delhi that the victory was mainly due to the development policies pursued by the Gujarat government.

While he did give credit to Modi, he added that nobody was bigger than the party.

Thousands of Modi supporters crowding outside the BJP state headquarters in Ahmedabad were not pleased with the comments.

A few soon started shouting "Rajnath, Hai Hai!" As TV cameras captured the embarrassing scenes, party leaders wasted no time in asking them to desist from such slogans.

On becoming the BJP president early this year, Rajnath Singh had removed Modi from the party's central parliamentary board.

BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley chose his words carefully as he commented on the future role of Modi in national politics: "He (Modi) is one of the foremost prominent leaders of the country and has a great amount of charisma."

He said Modi will continue to play a leading role in shaping Gujarat's destiny.