Former BJP president Nitin Gadkari is unlikely to reposition himself for the post of party chief in the wake of the Income Tax Department’s clarification that there is no investigation pending against him, party sources said.
Following Gadkari’s meetings with BJP Prime Minister-in-waiting Narendra Modi in Gandhinagar as well as party president Rajnath Singh and mentor L K Advani in New Delhi, speculation was rife on Tuesday about his future plans.
According to a senior Maharashtra BJP leader, Gadkari will prefer to join the Union Cabinet instead of leading the party.
“If we take into account his performance I can say that Gadkari is a better administrator than an organiser. He has learnt a lot from several mistakes he committed during his tenure( as BJP chief). He has shown interest in working with the Surface Transport Ministry,” he said. Further, the BJP leader pointed out that Singh has already disclosed that he will not join the Cabinet and will continue as party president.
Another factor that could work against Gadkari, if he were to angle for a second term as BJP president is the frosty ties between Gadkari and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.