By Kalyani Shankar
Will the BJP chief Nitin Gadkari get a second term? The position of Gadkari has become shaky in the wake allegations of scams against him. The BJP chief, who was poised to get a second term, is in trouble now after facing charges of financial irregularities.
Interestingly, the India Against Corruption leader Arvind Kerjiwal and his associate Anjali Damania made allegations of financial irregularities on the day the RSS was trying to begin its consultations for giving a second term to Gadkari, which was almost certain. The BJP president is expected to finish his first three-year term in December and the next term begins from January 2013 and may lead the party to the next general elections. Most of the seniors and some BJP chief ministers, including Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, were not in favor of a second term to Gadkari, as they want a more politically active person to take charge of the party before the Lok Sabha elections. Gadkari is seen as a political lightweight.
Although the BJP has been defending Gadkari publicly, he may have become a liability rather than an asset to the BJP, as well as the RSS, although none of the charges have been proved so far. But politics is perception and his image has been dented to a certain extent. The BJP chief needs to clarify some of the points raised by his detractors after the recent revelations about his business. Although unlike Sonia Gandhi’s son in law Robert Vadra, who has refused to answer any of the allegations against him, Gadkari has been facing the camera but has not clarified convincingly how persons close to him were manning the dubious companies, or the funding pattern of the Purti group or whether there was any violation of the Company law.
The BJP, which was hoping to make corruption as the main poll issue in the Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat Assembly elections, is finding it difficult to go after the Congress when its own party chief is facing such allegations, although it can console itself that the Congress, too, was facing similar problems.
What could aggravate Gadkari’s troubles is that if the RSS, which has promoted him, wavered in the wake of the scams. Gadkari was unknown and at best a Maharashtra leader who has been propelled by the RSS to the top position. He came through the Nagpur route. Whenever he goes, he will go through the Nagpur route. It was the RSS, which was instrumental in amending the party constitution to enable the president to get a second term in its Mumbai national executive meeting. The RSS was well aware of his business interests but did not expect the controversy to break out at this point of time. The RSS seems to think that there are several politicians who have business interests and also serve well in politics.
However, the allegations may hit not only the BJP but also the RSS. Therefore Nagpur has to go into the question carefully.
If Gadkari goes, who gains? Almost all the aspirants including Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley among others. But Narendra Modi tops the list as he is looking beyond Gujarat after the Assembly polls. Confident of winning the polls, he would like to have a stint in Delhi as the BJP chief or its prime ministerial candidate. The Mumbai and the recent Surajkund national executive meetings of the party showed the cracks between him and Gadkari. Modi had got removed some of his opponents smoothly. For instance, he got rid of the Gujarat chief minister Keshu Bhai Patel in his state politics and also the RSS Pracharak Sanjay Joshi for playing a bigger role in the party.
Interestingly, the pitch made by some BJP leaders in favor of ‘Modi for PM’ is getting louder. The former Karnataka chief minister Yeddyurappa, who has announced his decision to leave the BJP, was one of them. The latest advocate is the noted legal luminary Ram Jethmalani, who is not only pitching for Modi but also has demanded that Gadkari should not aspire for a second term as it would weaken the BJP’s position on the corruption plank in the forthcoming elections. Former MP, and a close aide of late Pramod Mahajan, Kirit Somaiah was one of those who was sidelined in the Gadkari regime filed a case PIL in the High Court.
Anjali Damania, who hoped for Gadkari’s support, went public after she was reported to have got encouragement from some BJP leaders against Gadkari. To strengthen his case, Modi also met the RSS top brass this week, a few days before the Vijayadasami.
Those who are in favour Gadkari’s ouster in the BJP argue that he was not the first BJP President to have got into such controversy. When Advani was named in the Jain Hawala case, he resigned and came back as the President at a much later date. Bangaru Laxman, who was caught talking money on camera also had to go and he is still fighting his cases.
In politics, it is said Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion. A lot would depend on how the RSS looks at the charges against Gadkari. If somehow he is able to convince his innocence, then there is a chance. Gadkari’s future depends on the RSS and whether Nagpur will get rid of his blue-eyed boy. As of now there are no signs but in the BJP when something happens it will happen fast. (IPA Service)