Rising Bharat Summit: Party Will Decide, Says Nitin Gadkari as Raj Thackeray Meets Amit Shah Amid Alliance Buzz

The Bharatiya Janata Party leadership will take the appropriate call on possible alliance with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in Maharashtra, Union Minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari said at CNN-News18’s Rising Bharat Summit on Tuesday.

“This morning, I got a (work-related) call from Raj Thackeray, but I have no clue about the decision on alliance. Our leadership will take an appropriate call on this,” Gadkari said.

Raj Thackeray met Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah in the national capital on Tuesday morning in an indication that the saffron party is looking to ally with him for the Lok Sabha elections to boost its alliance in Maharashtra.

As per reports, if the alliance is sealed, the MNS may be given one seat to contest from Mumbai, the Maharashtra capital where his cousin Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction enjoys some influence.

Asked about the seat sharing talks between the BJP, Ajit Pawar’s NCP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, which sends 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha, Gadkari said negotiations are in the “final stage” and expressed confidence that the BJP-led alliance would win the maximum seats in his home state. He also played down the Maratha quota issue as a factor in the upcoming elections, saying it has been resolved by CM Eknath Shinde.

On the INDIA bloc’s recent rally in Mumbai, the Union Minister said: “The opposition alliance has no future and will see defeat in this election. Post the defeat, many of their leaders will retire.”

The senior BJP leader also declared that he has no plans to join any other political party. Shown a clip of Shiv Sena-UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray taunting the BJP for not releasing Gadkari’s name in the first list of candidates, the Union Minister said: “Before the first list was released, there was no discussion happening regarding Maharashtra. My name appeared in the second list after due discussion happened with the state leadership. I am a BJP worker and will only contest on a BJP ticket. Such offers are laughable,” he said, referring to Uddhav’s offer of a Shiv Sena-UBT ticket.

Nitin Gadkari also explained his decision to not put up any posters or banners of himself during campaigning. “All my voters are my family. From 2014 till today, I have worked for them and they have seen that. Hence, I don’t think that I need to put up banner, hoarding or poster in this election. I am connected with them and will be doing door-to-door campaign this time too.”

Asked about his earlier comment that “good work never gets appreciated”, Gadkari clarified: “That statement was related to the system which we have in place and it was not related to the political party, but many misquoted me. Since I have been part of this system for the past 10 years… our system is so complicated that a person who does a good job never gets appreciation and the person who does a bad job never gets punished.”

Gadkari also denied saying that he wants to quit politics. “I have never said that I want to quit politics. I had said that we need to redefine the definition of politics. Only power politics is not politics. Social work and service to the nation are also politics. Gandhi ji’s agitation was also ‘politics’. We must do 80% work for social causes and the rest 20% for politics. I am taking such initiatives in my constituencies by helping people get medical help.”

On the recent implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the misinformation on it, the Union Minister said: “Many things have been cleared by our Constitution. People from Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist religions, if they go abroad and if that country sends them back, then our Constitution says that they can get citizenship in India legally. So, whatever is happening, is as per the Constitution.”

Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, also shared a transportation plan that he had prepared for Mumbai.

“When we complete 100 years of independence in 2047, the PM envisions a public transport system run on electricity and water. When I was shipping minister, I prepared a report on how you can reach Navi Mumbai airport in just 17 minutes via waterway from any part of Mumbai city. We have also made a jetty at the Navi Mumbai airport. We will have water taxis in the future. In the coming days, there will be a big revolution in public transport. We are also conducting a study on an double-decker bus in Bangalore which could be cost-effective as compared to Metro rail.”

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