Former carpet boy as new ‘carpetbagger’

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.

“He fulfils all that and also has dynamism required for the top post,” says Devendra Fadnavis,the party’s South-West Nagpur MLA and a highly respected legislator. “Also,he is a good orator and is comfortable with all three languages — Marathi,Hindi and English,” he adds. Another senior party leader Madhav Bhandari echoes similar views. “He has proved his organisational and administrative skills beyond doubt. His performance as PWD minister during which he built 55 flyovers in Mumbai and roads all over the state,as also his stint as chief of the infrastructure committee appointed by then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee have made him known across the country,” Bhandari says.

Gadkari’s performance as PWD minister during the Sena-BJP’s 1995-99 regime won him plenty of kudos,with people as diverse as Amitabh Bachchan and Ratan Tata showering lavish praise. As minister,Gadkari was known to favour quick results rather than going strictly by the book,often telling his officers to get cracking and not to cite rules and regulations as excuses. One of the main architects of the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana,he was also the first minister to initiate PWD works on Build-Operate-Transfer basis — then criticised as a sell-off to private contractors and later adopted by his own critics in the Opposition as the ideal model of development.

Bhandari also lists his urban,middle-class appeal as one of his strengths. “Today,more than 40 per cent of India is urban and more than 50 per cent is middle-class. So,it is important to appeal to them,” he adds.

The huge crowds Gadkari pulled across Vidarbha for his academic presentations last year on Vidarbha’s development plans would even put election rallies to shame. Over 50,000 people had turned up in Nagpur. Gadkari’s organisational skills cut across various parties,something Gadkari often praises NCP supremo Sharad Pawar for. No wonder then if he has tried to model his political career on that of Pawar — building on BJP workers’ networks,running a sugar mill and having friends in every party.

He also befriended Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray,looking at the possibility of MNS support being needed in the post-election scenario in Maharashtra recently. But this is not frowned upon by the RSS. “In fact,it’s good to be politically smart. We don’t consider it as a bad thing,” said a senior RSS leader.

It was this quality that helped Gadkari to get some prominent Republican Party leaders like Jogendra Kawade and Sulekha Kumbhare to support BJP early this year. His political openness led him to attempt a compromise between two Thackeray cousins — Raj and Uddhav —to avert the electoral disaster and even develop ties with Raj Thackeray for possible post-election support.

However,not everyone approves. “Friendships across parties often impede his campaigns. Be it Telgi,wheat import or his diatribe against Vilasrao Deshmukh for giving some contracts,many of his campaigns have finally petered out,” said a party leader who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Gadkari has often been accused of hobnobbing with Opposition leaders during elections,particularly the Congress’s Satish Chaturvedi in Central Nagpur,which houses the all-important RSS headquarters. The saffron alliance never won a battle there before the 2009 Assembly elections. But with the party’s lesser-known Krishna Khopde registering a massive win over Chaturvedi,Gadkari stands vindicated.

His friendships have also helped cocoon Gadkari from possible crises. In the ongoing Yogita Thakre case — the seven-year old girl found dead in a car in the courtyard of Gadkari’s Gadkariwada residence here — the entire Opposition has been surprisingly silent and has shied away from taking political advantage. Even before anything could be proved either way,then home minister Jayant Patil gave him a clean chit in the Assembly.

His admirers may be calling him “non-controversial”,but Gadkari has been through his share of sticky situations. His Purti Sugar Industries was embroiled in a controversy for not selling power to the state electricity board as is obligatory. Gadkari preferred selling it to private companies.

Eyebrows were also raised a few years ago when his journalist-turned-advisor friend Prakash Deshpande died mysteriously after falling from a train compartment while on his way from Mumbai to Nagpur. Speculation that linked the incident to the large amounts of party funds Deshpande was allegedly carrying,subsided eventually.

And for all his effective networking,Gadkari has detractors within the BJP too. His uncomfortable relationship with party general secretary Gopinath Munde is no secret. How will Munde respond if and when Gadkari dons the mantle of party leadership? “What choice does he have than to fall in line? In politics,you can’t throw tantrums too often,” said a senior Congress leader known for his understanding of political undercurrents in Maharashtra.

But Gadkari has been compared unfavourably with Munde,particularly in terms of mass appeal. “Today Gadkari is taking over as state party president,but Munde is our mass leader and he will stage a comeback,” late Pramod Mahajan had openly declared in Yavatmal three years ago when Gadkari took over as state party chief from Munde,Mahajan’s brother-in-law.

Today,Gadkari has not only stabilised as state chief but is now being viewed as the top contender to head the party at the national level. “He has proved the post-Mahajan fear that the BJP will be in tatters in Maharashtra wrong. The BJP has gained an edge over Sena by winning more seats in these elections,” Bhandari says.

Over the years,Gadkari has successfully put his Maharashtrian Brahmin tag behind. The only election he has till date fought,and has always won,is that of Nagpur Graduate constituency seat for Legislative Council. It has led to sneers that he isn’t a mass leader who could win direct elections. Gadkari always laughs it off.

For now,however,he is said to be the RSS’s chosen one for the top BJP job. So,how will he deliver when he suddenly finds himself above a battery of senior party leaders? For this Gadkari’s cryptic reply is: “I am ready deliver whatever the party wants me to.”

Where Gadkari scores points

Is regarded as being an effective,politically astute performer in his stint as the BJP’s state unit chief.

His performance as PWD minister during which he built 55 flyovers in Mumbai and roads all over the state,as also his stint as chief of the infrastructure committee appointed by the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee cemented his reputation of having excellent administrative and organisational skills.

Gadkari has the implicit support of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat,whose views he has echoed on a number of issues. His age,52,is also in keeping with the RSS sarsanghchalak’s call for younger leadership.

His urban,middle-class appeal is viewed as one of his major strengths,as are his oratorical skills.

His ability to nurture friendships across party lines has worked to his advantage,despite criticism from a section of the party’s leaders.