The BJP has rejected the allegation levelled by Shiv Sena (UBT) that senior party leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, did not campaign for Union minister Nitin Gadkari, who was contesting the Lok Sabha election from Nagpur.
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Sunday wrote in party mouthpiece Saamana that none of the senior leaders supported Gadkari.
Reacting to this, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that Raut had no clue about the inner working of the BJP. He said Modi, Shah, Fadnavis and Gadkari were part of the BJP parivar (family). He said there was no question of anyone not supporting Gadkari.
Bawankule said for all BJP workers the nation came first, the party next and the individual last. “In Raut’s case, Sharad Pawar came first, himself next, Uddhav Thackeray next and the party came last,” he alleged.
The BJP has in the past also accused Raut, who is the editor of Saamana, of taking orders from Pawar. It may be recalled that when Raut was to be arrested, Pawar specially flew down to New Delhi to meet Modi and requested him to spare the UBT leader. But Modi declined and Raut was sent to Arthur Road Jail.
Thackeray has also in the past tried to embarrass his erstwhile ally the BJP by offering a ticket to Gadkari to contest the LS poll. This was when Gadkari’s name was missing from the first list of BJP candidates. The BJP had rejected this charge and pointed out that the names were declared phase-wise. In any case, there was no question of denying a ticket to Gadkari, who was a tall leader of the party known for phenomenal work with regard to the development of national highways and ports.
It is well known that Gadkari and Modi have certain differences. When the BJP was marching towards victory in 2014, there were indications that Gadkari, who has a good equation with the RSS, would become the prime minister. However, eventually the party opted for Modi, who had a track record of providing good administration as the chief minister of Gujarat and was from the non-Brahmin category, unlike Gadkari.
Gadkari had quickly reconciled to the choice of Modi and focussed entirely on developmental issues, earning accolades globally.
“The Shiv Sena (UBT) thinks it is being smart by trying to create a rift between Modi and Gadkari. But its efforts are destined to flop. It has no idea about the sense of purpose that pervades the top echelons of our party,” a senior BJP activist told The Free Press Journal on Sunday.
