RSS firm on Nitin Gadkari; Advani’s proposal to make Sushma Swaraj BJP president not accepted
Mangaloretoday/NDTV
New Delhi, Jan 20: Despite fierce opposition from LK Advani, the senior most leader of the BJP, the party’s ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has said that current president Nitin Gadkari must get an unprecedented second term.
Sources say the RSS has made it clear to Mr Advani that it will not support any other candidate for president. Mr Advani had proposed Sushma Swaraj, currently Leader of the Opposition, for the post. Sources say he had requested the RSS to consider Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as another option.
The RSS did not budge. Like in 2009, the RSS has ignored other BJP stalwarts to back Mr Gadkari. The nominations papers will be filed on January 23.
In recent months, Mr Gadkari has been tainted with allegations of graft, which have dented his party’s campaign against the ruling Congress as the country heads to the general election next year.
Leaders like Mr Advani have been pitching the BJP as a corruption-free option to the Congress, on whose watch major financial scams ranging from telecom to the allocation of valuable coal fields have been constructed and executed.
But Mr Gadkari is being investigated for allegedly building a vast business empire with assistance from ghost investor firms, many of who shared the same address and directors.
Some leaders like Yashwant Sinha had, in fact, said Mr Gadkari should step down during his current tenure as president after allegations of corruption surfaced last year.
Sources tell NDTV that Rajnath Singh’s name had been suggested as an alternative to Mr Gadkari’s, but that was not accepted by Mr Advani. Mr Singh is a former president of the BJP and was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh between October 2000 and March 2002. He represents Ghaziabad in the current Lok Sabha.
Mr Gadkari is not a member of Parliament though he has suggested he may contest the election next year from his home turf of Nagpur.