Is Nitin Gadkari trying to send a message to the BJP central leadership ahead of the Maharashtra elections? The Union minister of transport and highways skipped Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Wardha on September 20 to launch the Acharya Chanakya Skill Development Scheme and to mark the first anniversary of the PM Vishwakarma Yojana. Gadkari also stayed away from the BJP’s pre-election review meeting in Nagpur on September 24, which was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
When asked about Gadkari’s absence, his media officer said the minister was out of Maharashtra. A senior BJP leader close to Gadkari said too much was being read into Gadkari’s absence. “Is it necessary that Gadkari saheb has to be present at every event of the Central leadership? He is a Central minister as well and has his own programmes,” said the leader, dismissing allegations that Gadkari was staying away intentionally.
A week ago, Gadkari had joked at a public function that there was no guarantee that the BJP would be able to form the government at the Centre for a fourth time. While Modi was at Wardha, Gadkari was attending an event in Pune when he said that in a democracy, the government must be open to criticism. “Everyone should be free to express their opinion and those in power should tolerate criticism,” he said.
Gadkari is one of the few Union ministers who is popular among the opposition. He is known to speak his mind and does not hesitate to help MPs belonging to opposition parties. Speaking at an event in Nagpur on September 14, he said a senior leader from an opposition party had offered him support for the post of prime minister, but he had turned it down.
Ahead of the Maharashtra elections, the BJP is toying with the idea of collective leadership. State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said a few days ago that Gadkari would be among the top leaders for the assembly campaign. This was not the case in 2019 when chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had controlled all aspects of the campaign. Back then, some of the top leaders perceived to be close to Gadkari, including Bawankule, were denied tickets. Five years later, Fadnavis is not really in a commanding position. So Gadkari will certainly have a say in ticket distribution and election management.
During his meeting in Nagpur, Shah set a target of winning 45 of 62 seats in Vidarbha. This is a big task given the BJP’s poor show in the region in the Lok Sabha elections. Against this backdrop, Gadkari’s absence at such a crucial meeting has confused the cadre further.
Maharashtra Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant said Gadkari certainly seemed upset with the Modi-Shah leadership. He said the dictatorship enforced by the duo over the BJP was far worse than what was being faced by the country. So, in his view, a senior leader like Gadkari, who once served as BJP president, is naturally feeling upset.
An incident that took place when Gadkari was party president offers some insight into his equation with Modi. As president, Gadkari tried to revive the career of Sanjay Joshi, one of the BJP’s national secretaries and a strong Modi opponent. Modi, who was then chief minister of Gujarat, refused to attend a party event in Mumbai till Joshi was asked to leave. Despite being national president, Gadkari had to bow to Modi’s wishes.
A senior NCP leader said that it was natural for Gadkari to feel frustrated. “Gadkari is a large-hearted and democratic leader. The current dispensation has reduced a vibrant democracy into a situation where the opposition is treated like an enemy,” the leader said. “Gadkari does not like this and he has been open about it.”
BOSS OF BLUNT TALK
Outspoken and unapologetic, Nitin Gadkari has been a magnet for controversy over the past few years. Some instances of his plain-speak:
“When I was a child, my mother would often tell me, ‘A critic should become our neighbour, so that our flaws can be pointed out.’ The biggest test of democracy is that the king is capable of tolerating criticism against himself.”
At an event in Pune on September 20, 2024
“[A] person said, ‘If you are going to become prime minister, we would support you.’ I asked, ‘Why should you support me? And why should I take your support?’ To become prime minister is not the aim in my life. I am loyal to my conviction… and I am not going to make compromises for any post.”
At an awards function in Nagpur on September 14, 2024
If we continue doing what the Congress used to do, then there is no use of their exit and our entry.
At the BJP executive meeting in Goa on July 12, 2024
“Never indulge in use-and-throw policy. When you have held someone’s hand, hold it tight if he is your friend, irrespective of whether the situation is good or bad.”
At an event in Nagpur on August 28, 2022, after he was dropped from the BJP’s parliamentary board
“People like politicians who sell dreams. But if these dreams are not realised, then they beat them up as well. I am not someone who just sells dreams; I realise them, too.”
At a function in Mumbai on January 27, 2019
“If I am the party president and my MPs and MLAs are not doing well, then who is responsible? I am.”
At an Intelligence Bureau event on December 24, 2018, after the BJP led by president Amit Shah lost three key heartland states in elections