‘War of position’: Opposition takes swipe at BJP after Gadkari’s ‘was offered PM post’ claim

Days after Union Minister Nitin Gadkari claimed that he was offered the post of prime minister by a senior Opposition leader ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Opposition has alleged that the remark was a manifestation of a brewing internal feud in the BJP.

Signs of intra-party tussle: RJD leader

The latest to comment on the issue is Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha who said that Gadkari’s remark shows that there was a ‘war of position’ in the ruling party at the Centre over the post of prime minister, and that the results will be visible in the next few months.

“Did the BJP choose PM Modi as its leader this time? Check the timeline, NDA had chosen,” Jha told news agency ANI.

He said the intra-party tussle for the top post in the government is a result of the BJP failing to achieve the coveted simple majority mark of 272 seats in the Lok Sabha and having to depend on two of its allies in the NDA for support to make up the magic number – the JD(U) and the TDP.

‘Is Gadkari sending a message to Modi?’

On Sunday (September 15), Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said Gadkari was using the excuse of Opposition leaders to send a message to Modi, and that the Opposition has capable leaders to lead the country and wouldn’t want to borrow one from the BJP.

“Well played, Nitinji,” Chaturvedi wrote on X.

Gadkari’s claim

Gadkari, made the claim last week that he was offered the top post by the Opposition before the Lok Sabha polls this year, but he “simply rejected it”.

He, however, did not reveal the name of the Opposition leader who approached him with the offer.

“A person said to me, if you are going to become a prime minister, we will support you. I said, why you should support me, and why should I take your support? To become a prime minister is not the aim in my life. I am loyal to my conviction and organisation and I am not going to compromise for any post because my conviction is most important to me. I am a man who follows one ideology and conviction. I am in a party which has given me everything which I never even dreamt of. No offer can entice me,” he said at a journalism awards function in Nagpur on Saturday (September 14).

No plans to replace PM Modi

The Federal, has, however, learnt that there are no plans in the BJP or the RSS to replace Prime Minister Modi, and that this is not even a point of discussion within the organisation or the RSS leadership.

Gadkari has won the Lok Sabha elections from the Nagpur constituency three times, and defeated his nearest Congress rival by a margin of 1,37, 603 votes in the 2024 elections. He is the longest-serving minister in the same ministry under Modi.