By Harihar Swarup
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 in Nagpur last month 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 in Gadkari’s absence. “Is it interesting 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 the 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 Narendra 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 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 in full control. So Gadkari will certainly have a say in distribution and election management.
During his meeting in Nagpur, Amit 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 Lok Sabha elections. Against this backdrop, Gadkari’s absence at such crucial meeting has confused the cadres further.
Maharashtra Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant said Gadkari certainly seemed upset with the Modi-Shah leadership. He said the dictatorship enforced by duo over the BJP was far worse than what was being faced by the country. So, in my view a senior leader like Gadkari, who once served as BJP leader, 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 of 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. (IPA Se
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