I want to know the answer to the following question:
Why was Shtokavian suggested as a common language base?
All the background I'm provided with is that "In the mid-19th century, Serbian (led by self-taught writer and folklorist Vuk Stefanović Karadžić) and most Croatian writers and linguists (represented by the Illyrian movement and led by Ljudevit Gaj and Đuro Daničić), proposed the use of the most widespread dialect, Shtokavian, as the base for their common standard language.". Is that enough to answer the question?
Answer: yes