Agartala, Feb 4 (IANS): Any of eight leaders in the BJP, including Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, could be the prime ministerial candidate, party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Monday.

"The parliamentary board will choose one from among the eight top leaders at an appropriate time as the prime ministerial candidate," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice president told reporters.

He said there was no confusion or disagreement within the BJP on this issue.

After releasing the BJP manifesto for the Feb 14 Tripura elections, Naqvi said at least eight important political parties would soon join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Refusing to disclose their names, he said some of them were earlier BJP allies.

"Manmohan Singh is a prime minister on deputation with remote control in Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi's hands," Naqvi said.

He added: "Our rivals portray the BJP as a Hindutva party although ours is a nationalistic party.

"Even though several northeastern states are Christian-dominated states, the BJP's aim is to develop each part of the region."

The BJP has fielded several candidates in all three northeastern states which will see elections this month: Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya.