Not going down without a fight: BJP chief Gadkari makes desperate bid for new image

PUBLISHED: 15:22 EST, 23 December 2012 | UPDATED: 16:58 EST, 23 December 2012

Despite a change in equations in the Bharatiya Janata Party becoming imminent after Narendra Modi's spectacular victory in the Gujarat assembly elections, party president Nitin Gadkari is determined not to go down without a fight.

The leader has been desperately trying to re-package himself after the demands for his ouster following the allegations of irregularities in his Purti group and his alleged quid pro quo with road construction giant IRB.

His mission is to showcase himself as a leader with a national stature. To achieve this, Gadkari has been championing two central issues in recent weeks - national security and the development of the North-East.

The leader recently went on an extensive tour of the North-East, addressing rallies in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Sources close to Gadkari indicate that it was a conscious decision on his part to concentrate on the North- East, as it is a region that has been ignored by central leaders of all major political parties.

BJP National President Nitin Gadkari beating a traditional drum during an exhibition in Guwahati

Taking the lead

Sources in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh said Gadkari's visits to the North-East must be seen in the context of the outfit's own accelerated efforts in the region.

"The Sangh has been working in the North-East since decades. But we decided to step up our efforts after the violence in Assam earlier this year. The region is a tinderbox and the national leaders cannot afford to ignore it. Gadkariji has done the right thing by taking the lead," a senior RSS functionary said.

Gadkari's visit to Arunachal Pradesh is particularly indicative of this as it is a state where the RSS has been working particularly hard in recent times.

Addressing a rally in Itanagar earlier this month, Gadkari had emphasised that the development of Arunachal, was for nation's security. He concluded the Shahid Shraddhanjali Yatra in this state commemorating 50 years of the 1962 India-China war.

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Gadkari promised that the BJP would prepare a vision document for the North-East for overall development of the region with main thrust on infrastructure, education, power and health sectors.

His thrust on the development of the North-East is linked to his recent obsession with national security. "India is under threat. We face a challenge from the Maoists, whose power extends from Pashupati (Nepal) to Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh)… even Pakistan, after being defeated in the battlefield thrice, began a proxy war with India," Gadkari said.

Being a political lightweight in Delhi, Gadkari has sought to raise a variety of issues to enhance his stature ever since he became president. It was under his guidance that leaders from his home state Maharashtra - Hansraj Ahir and Kirit Somaiya - raised the issue of corruption against the UPA.

While Ahir blew the lid over the coal scam, Somaiya took on the Congress-NCP government in the state over a number of graft cases such as the irrigation scam. Both Gadkari and the RSS are trying to arrive at an arrangement whereby he retains his relevance in the central BJP.

Following Modi's victory, the RSS is said to have proposed an arrangement whereby Modi becomes the Prime Ministerial candidate of the BJP and Gadkari remains the party president. Such an arrangement existed between Atal Behari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani during the shortlived BJP-led government in 1996.

There are also attempts to broker a truce between Gadkari and Modi. This was evident by Gadkari's flowery congratulations to Modi after his victory. In return, the latter acknowledged the party's importance in his victory speech on December 20, something that he hadn't done throughout the campaign.