'Vote based on track record, no posters, no campaigning'; Mission 'Orange city' for Gadkari

NEW DELHI: There remained a lot of ambiguity around BJP’s candidate selection in Nagpur. All eyes were fixated on this constituency which used to always elect current Union minister Nitin Gadkari. However, suspense took over Nagpur after Gadkari failed to find a place in the first list of candidates published by BJP. Amidst the Shiv Sena taunts regarding Gadkari’s omission. BJP in the second list took no chance but included Gadkari’s name from Nagpur, putting an end to all controversies. Gadkari, who has been Nagpur MP since 2014, is now aiming for a hat-trick victory.

Nagpur, the winter capital of Maharashtra, is nicknamed the Orange City. However, the city earned its place in the political annals of India for being the citadel of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS). The organization was established in 1925 and is now headquartered in Nagpur. Nitin Gadkari, who entered politics through the ABVP and rose to the national level through the Maharashtra BJP, is a favourite pick of the RSS leadership.

Gadkari is also the finest minister currently serving in the Modi cabinet based on track record. Among the dozens of development works he has offered to the nation, Gadkari remains a hero for Mumbaikars mainly for making the Mumbai-Pune express highway a reality. In 2009, when the party faced a crisis, he became the national president of the BJP with the support of the RSS leadership.

Earlier, rumours abounded about BJP omitting Gadkari this time for his outspoken nature of critiquing BJP leadership. Gadkari had said that he will not campaign for himself this time and will get the votes he deserves. It has also been said that banners and posters will not be put up.

Though Nagpur remains a bastion, the BJP had to wait until 1996 to wrest power in the terrain from the Congress party. In 1996, only Banwarilal Purohit won the Lok Sabha seat. Gadkari's entry in 2014 was to topple Congress's Vilas Muttemwar, who had held the constituency since 1998.

It is no secret that the BJP leadership wanted to groom younger politicians to take over the baton from veterans and Nagpur was one such constituency where the party foraged for a popular young figure. However, it was later discerned that nobody could eclipse the popularity of Gadkari, and so the selection was made. Gadkari is also a favourite among the LDF ministers for the helping hand the minister had given for the road development in Kerala.

In 2019:

Nitin Gadkari (BJP): 6,60, 221(55.67%)

Nana Patole (Congress): 4,44,212(37.45%)

Muhammad Jamal (BSP): 31,725(2.67%)