Nitin Gadkari’s tiff with Modi-Shah and the emergence of a new power centre in the BJP

Written by Indra Shekhar Singh

THERE is growing chatter within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) about a purge of dissenters. Yogi Adityanath, Nitin Gadkari and a few others appear to feel the heat already.

Rumours are also bruiting about the two-time MP Gadkari losing his Nagpur seat. Is all this only conjecture? Or, is there an ongoing shadow boxing match between Modi-Shah versus Nitin Gadkari and others?

The tiff between Gadkari and Modi-Shah is an open secret. Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut recently declared, “Modi, Shah and Devendra Fadnavis are working to defeat Gadkari.” He even alleged that Fadnavis gave “large sums of money for Gadkari’s defeat”.

Now there could be some fire to this smoke as Gadkari, who is running for the third term from Nagpur, was absent from most of the BJP’s campaign posters in Nagpur. Gadkari was also dropped from national campaigns in the run-up to the 2024 elections. In the run-up to the 2019 polls, Gadkari had made speeches and was a star campaigner for the BJP, but all that has changed now.

Gadkari had been under Modi-Shah radar for a long time, as he could potentially replace Modi. Hence, Modi 1.0 was rocked by internal scandal when Gadkari’s official residence was found bugged in 2014. Although Gadkari denied any internal hand to doze the fires, but later admitted that he kept quiet under pressure from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Gadkari, after being silent for long, broke his silence in 2022 speaking in euphemism on “use and throw” politics and said “politics has become about capturing power” – after Gadkari was removed from the parliamentary board of the BJP.

Gadkari had also served as the youngest national president of the BJP, courtesy the RSS. He is also known for speaking his mind, even with Modi, and hence was shunted by the Modi-Shah duo. He is a natural opposition to the Gujarat lobby seeking to wrestle control from the Maharashtrian-RSS lobby for total control of the BJP-RSS machinery.

Shifting industrial projects and economic projects from Maharashtra to Gujarat is a direct result of Gujarati domination of Maharashtra. It also happens that two Gujarati origin business houses have vastly increased their wealth and also bagged major contracts in Maharashtra. From the airport to Foxconn factories, all appear to be going into Gujarati hands.

Gadkari despite demanding the chief ministership of Maharashtra was simply denied this role. The reason is simple regionalism. Gadkari could have advocated for Maharashtra-first policies and potentially prevented the money drain from Maharashtra to Gujarat. Many believe that his elevation to the central cabinet was to keep Modi’s enemies close and smoothen out Gujarati's economic takeover of Maharashtra.

Why is the RSS backing Gadkari?

Rumour has it that apart from being a successful “businessman”, Gadkari is also the financial pillar and treasury of the RSS. An attack on him is direct attack on, many believe, on the RSS’s pocket. It would be hard to verify the exact details of this relationship, but no doubt there are strong financial links between Gadkari and the RSS.

But speaking of more recent times, Modi has not shied from taking credit for most road infrastructure projects completed under the ministry headed by Gadkari. From national highways to bridges, all are suddenly part of Modi’s work and not Gadkari’s, in the BJP’s optics.

To further tarnish Gadkari’s integrity, the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) was let loose on Gadkari before the 2024 election. They reported “highly inflated costs for building the Dwarka Expressway, as instead of Rs 18 crore, the ministry spent Rs 250 crore per km”.

Speaking electorally, Gadkari while speaking to a group of senior journalists in Beed confirmed that about 1.5 lakh voters from Gadkari’s electoral base have miraculously disappeared from the voter lists. This means that Gadkari’s supporters won’t be able to vote for him. This can be a pivotal moment for Gadkari’s electoral opponent. One wonders if there is some truth to Raut’s allegations. If this has happened, this reeks of animosity between the two camps.

But why doesn’t Gadkari rebel and create a VP Singh moment? Expose the internal corruption, show the country that the emperor has no clothes? Modi-Shah have a serious leverage against Gadkari. 

Reportedly, a seven-year-old dead girl was found in Nitin Gadkari’s son’s car. As per the police, Class III student had blood on her inner underwear, and meanwhile, the family alleged rape and murder.

In 2013, the court rejected Maharashtra Crime Investigation Department (CID) closure report for the second time in the death of Yogita Thakre, the 3rd class student. Although Gadkari said he has given his full cooperation and is ready to face any probe in the matter, yet this sword hangs over his son’s head and their public image.

Hence, Gadkari is playing a very dangerous game. On the one side, he has swallowed his pride and focused on delivering on his promise of road infrastructure. He has tried to clean his image by refraining from communal jibes. He is patiently sticking to business and development work – always toeing the Modi line.

Meanwhile, he has silently planted the seeds of his own candidacy in the party and cleverly allied with Yogi Adityanath and RSS-backed veteran leaders to build another power centre standing in opposition to the Modi-Shah duo. His silence and work have earned him a good public opinion too.

Meanwhile, Yogi Adityanath made a special visit to Gadkari’s home during his Nagpur visit and Gadkari reciprocated too, signalling to Modi-Shah emergence of a new alignment within the BJP. Yogi Adityanath has been given similar treatment too by the duo, and hence a natural ally of Gadkari against Modi-Shah domination.

Now the dangerous part, because if the Modi-Shah duo lose majority in 2024, given their dampened performance in the Hindi states and Maharashtra, the second power structure led by Gadkari with RSS’s blessing could present a silent coup overthrowing Modi-Shah. But if the game turns, Modi-Shah could not only destroy Gadkari but also once and for all destroy RSS’s sovereignty.

Elections in Nagpur this time are not only a test of Gadkari’s political astuteness, but also of RSS’s resilience against an invasion from the Modi-Shah Gujarati army.

This article was originally published by The Wire and has been republished with permission