Is there a major shuffle in the offing on the national political scene? Has the infighting in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gained enough steam to topple the long suppressed dissent in party cadres, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to deliver a majority report card for the third time.
At least feelers sent through acts of senior party leaders do give such speculations, the needed strength.
Union Minister and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gandakri, created ripples in power circles by revealing that he turned down an offer for the Prime Minister’s position from a political leader from the opposition, stating that becoming PM was not the aim of his life.
Addressing the media fraternity at late Anil Kumar Patrakarita Puraskar Samaroh organised by Vidarbha Gaurav Pratishthan on Saturday (September 16, 2024), the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways said that he is loyal to his conviction and organization, and won’t compromise with that.
“I do not want to name anyone but a person told me, if you are going to become Prime Minister, we will support you. And I said, why should you support me, and why I should take your support. To become a Prime Minister is not the aim of my life. I am loyal to my conviction and organization and I am not going to compromise for any post because my conviction is most important to me. I think that this conviction is the biggest strength of Indian democracy,” Gadkari said.
He further said, “Democracy will be successful only when all the four pillars i.e., judiciary, executive, legislature and media kept their ethics intact.”
It may be mentioned that during 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha election, Nitin Gadkari’s name had emerged as a probable Prime Ministerial candidate.
To go further, just a month ago, the same Gadkari, an three-time MP from Nagpur and having strong ties with the Hindutva fountainhead, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), had written a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the removal of GST on life insurance and medical policies for the greater good of the people, especially the elderly.
The act had caught the BJP top brass unaware amid growing fears about losing control over the organization, where dissent had been long suppressed and a buoyant opposition was making inroads in party strongholds.
Also, amid growing speculation that Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis could replace JP Nadda as the party chief, post 2024 Lok Sabha poll debacle, the rise of Fadnavis in Maharashtra political scene, is also seen to have affected Gadkari’s stature after BJP reduced him to just a leader from Nagpur, which probably could have led to such reaction from the senior BJP leader.
Last year on July 23, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadakri, had created shock waves in power corridors with his statement that sometimes he felt like quitting politics, as there were many other things to do in life.
If Modi did not adhere to RSS Pracharak’s norms, he will have to forego PM’s chair through other methods
The list of Modi detractors is increasing by the day. Barely a month back, senior BJP leader and six-time BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, had dropped a bomb on social media platform X saying that if Modi did not adhere to the RSS Pracharak’s norms, he will have to forego PM’s chair through other methods.
Swamy has been a critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a long time now and has been vocal of the faulty policies of BJP government at Centre.
Swamy wrote on X ,“If Modi does not, as committed to RSS Pracharak’s Sanskaar, announce his retiring to Marg Darshan Mandal after his 75th year birthday on Sept 17th, then he will lose his PM chair by other methods.” Subramanian Swamy was pointing towards an unwritten rule of BJP.
Interestingly, after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, many stalwarts in BJP had been shown the door for Marg Darshan Mandal, an undeclared compulsory retirement from active politics post crossing the age of 75. For this reason, veterans like Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi had to sit in the ‘Marg Darshan Mandal’. Another BJP biggie Sumitra Mahajan also could not contest the elections owing to the same.
Says political analyst Abhay Awasthi, “Internal dynamics of BJP has started to change after party’s Robinhood, Narendra Modi failed to acquire majority for the third time leading to the government settling for a coalition experience.”
As per Awasthi, the party after enjoying a decade of unbridled power is going through a rough patch as growing dissent inside the party cadres has started to surface up, at timesin public domain.
