A key eastern ally of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance, the Janata Dal (United) of Bihar, Sunday made it clear that the regional party would not accept controversial politician Narendra Modi as the opposition's potential prime ministerial candidate for 2014 general elections.

The Janata Dal (United), led by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, said that it would prefer senior BJP leader L.K. Advani as a prime ministerial candidate and not Modi, the Chief Minister of the western state of Gujarat, who has been accused of turning a blind eye to the 2002 communal riots in the state in which several minority Muslims were allegedly killed by Hindu fundamentalists.

"The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has contested elections under Advani's leadership so I don't think there should be a problem for any NDA faction to go to polls under his guidance. Advani will be definitely more acceptable to most of the faction of the NDA," senior Janata Dal (United) party leader Devesh Chandra Thakur told the media in the national capital.

The Janata Dal (United)'s open remarks came a day after the Bihar Chief Minister conveyed his party's compulsions to BJP chief Rajnath Singh during their meeting Saturday.

The Janata Dal (United), which is in power in Bihar in alliance with the BJP, may soon set a six-month deadline to the latter to announce its prime ministerial candidate for the polls, party sources said.

Advani, a former Deputy Prime Minister of India, was NDA's prime ministerial candidate in 2009 general elections.