Mungantiwar wants Gadkari to become the CM expects him to nominate his name for the top job. He fears that Gujaratis will have rein over the state’s administration.
Even though BJP had nominated Devendra Fadnavis for the Chief Ministerial post but a group of newly elected MLAs from Vidharbha has demanded Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to be made CM of the state. Gadkari had denied that he is not in race for the chief ministerial post but MLA’s who gathered outside his residence to support him has given an indication of his ambitions for the top post. BJP MLA and former state unit president Sudhir Mungantiwar too wants Gadkari to become the CM.
“State BJP leaders feel that Nitin Gadkariji should come back to the state politics and take up the position of the CM of Maharashtra. He has a lot of administrative experience behind him which makes him an ideal candidate,” said Mungantiwar.
Mungantiwar is backing Gadkari for the CM’s post so that he reciprocates by nominating the former’s name for the top job. Since Devendra Fadnavis is close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah so Gadkari camp is worried that the central leadership will have a larger say when it comes to running the state administration. Gadkari’s supporters want a local leader to take over the reins of the state hence they are nominating his name for the CM’s post. Thus the battle for the CM’s post will only intensify in the coming days and BJP will have to resolve this issue.
Nagpur-East MLA Krishna Khopde offered to quit and vacate his seat to pave way for his mentor Nitin Gadkari, after voices grew louder on bringing back the Union Minister to the state to don the mantle. Khopde, a second term MLA said that he was willing to resign for Gadkari from his constituency.
Thirty nine MLA’s from Vidarbha took a flight from Mumbai to Nagpur and asked Union Minister and former party president Nitin Gadkari to take over as the Chief Minister. All of them had backed Fadnavis earlier for the CM’s post.
The move, however, seemed to have been planned strategically. First, Gadkari landed at Nagpur on Tuesday. Then, the MLAs rushed to Nagpur and gathered at his residence. Gadkari also fielded his close aide, Sudhir Mungantiwar, to hold discussions with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Capital.
Even as the MLAs shouted slogans like, “Maharashtra ka mukhya mantri kaisa ho, Nitin Gadkari jaisa ho”, Gadkari sought to play down the development. “It is their love for me that has prompted them to urge me to become CM.
According to sources, since the BJP is falling short of a majority in the 288-member assembly, the party may need a chief minister with more experience. The RSS may also want a more seasoned politician like Gadkari to hold the reins of the state instead of experimenting with Fadnavis, who has never worked in government in his 15-year-long political career.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh and BJP general secretary JP Nadda are expected to hold a meeting of party legislators in Mumbai on October 26 to decide on the chief ministerial candidate.
