by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group
Exclusive Report
Exclusive Report
"Nobody contacted me… I am happy in my ministries," BJP leader tells Lokmat Times
Harish Gupta
New Delhi, Nov. 12 :
Notwithstanding the assertions made by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh that Amit Shah will continue for next two terms as the BJP president, search has begun to select a new party chief in December-January itself.
Highly placed sources in the RSS, the mother organization of the BJP, has signaled that "course correction" is the need of the hour as no lessons were learnt by the BJP leadership under Amit Shah after the humiliating defeat in January this year during the Delhi Assembly polls.
Before leaving Delhi, the RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, reportedly gave a dressing down to Amit Shah for his failure in Bihar for the party's worst-defeat and for creating an opportunity to unify the Opposition parties against the BJP.
Though Rajnath Singh who held a long meeting with Mohan Bhagwat a day earlier, denied that he was in the reckoning for the party post, sources close to him say that he frankly told the RSS chief that he wants to return to the party. Rajnath Singh may have asserted that Shah will be re-elected for full three year term in Dec-Jan. But none in the Sangh Parivar is willing for his continuance. It would be pertinent to mention that Rajnath Singh was the party president in May, 2014 when it won 282 Lok Sabha seats.
He wanted to continue as BJP chief. But the Prime Minister Narendra Modi insisted that he be brought in as Home Minister and Amit Shah be rewarded for winning 73 Lok Sabha seats in UP. The RSS buckled and agreed for Shah whose gamble paid off in Maharashtra, Jharkhand & Haryana. But in all these states, the Opposition parties were a divided lot and the BJP benefited.
After the Delhi & Bihar debacle, the RSS doesn't want to take chances as NDA has already ruled for 18 months and trust of the workers and voters has to be regained.
These sources say Surface Transport & Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari tops the list of probables for the next BJP president's post. Gadkari was party president in 2012 when he had to quit mid-way in an unsavory manner when media reported an Income-Tax raids on his Purti group of companies. Rajnath Singh was brought in as an interim president. Later, it turned out that there were no raids on Gadkari's companies. But the damage had been done. The Sangh Parivar also feels that Prime Minister and party president should not belong to the same state and it had made an exception at the explicit request of BJP leadership after the government was formed. Now a change of guard is the need of the hour and a more pleasant, acceptable and accommodative leader is required who can take the workers along.
Therefore, Gadkari fits into this scenario prevailing within the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. But he stoutly denies he is either in the reckoning or keen to become the party president. When Lokmat Times contacted him over the phone, he said, "Nobody has contacted me and nor I am interested..(to become the party president). I am very happy with what I am doing in my ministries…. focused on building highways and infrastructure development."
However, sources in the Parivar say that there is none in the party who can infuse confidence. Health Minister J P Nadda could have been stop gap arrangement in 2014. But certainly not in 2017 when the General Elections won't be very far away.
