In a deeply divided party, Nitin Gadkari stands out for his relative youth, administrative and organisational skills, networking abilities, non-controversial image and, most importantly, his proximity to the RSS. As the likelihood of his taking over as BJP president grows stronger, an introduction to the man who few, until now, had known outside Maharashtra

Twenty-five years ago, a young man living a stone’s throw away from the RSS headquarters in Nagpur’s old-fashioned Mahal locality would ride his Lambretta scooter to the city’s newspaper offices, handing over press statements and meeting journalist friends. He was among the ordinary workers who would actually lay down carpets at what was then the Jan Sangh party’s programmes.

Much water has flown down Nagpur’s Nag river since. Now 52, Nitin Jairam Gadkari, MCom, LLB, has long ceased to courier press statements. He issues them now. His journalist friends call on him at his residence or office. And as it now appears more and more certain, the man who once laid carpets at party functions could possibly find himself walking the red carpet as the BJP’s new president next month.

Even as the BJP struggles to cope with its political downslide and intra-party chaos, Gadkari’s sudden foray to the party’s top echelons has surprised many. In fact, many in the party here had until two months ago dismissed the reports as baseless. But as the weak possibility has turned into a strong probability, party leaders have started admitting that Gadkari’s ‘qualifications’ for the party post are not to be scoffed at, including his age, administrative and organisational skills, his non-controversial image and most importantly his proximity to the RSS, which is intervening like never before to revamp the crisis-ridden BJP.

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