'BJP’s PM candidates have chosen constituencies'

The BJP’s prime ministerial candidates have chosen their constituencies, New Indian Express Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla digs out of BJP president Nitin Gadkari during Teekhi Baat on IBN7. Excerpts:

Like Munni getting badnaam, Gadkari is blamed for everything: the Ajay Sancheti controversy, Anshuman Mishra. What is happening to the BJP?

This is Delhi politics, which runs not on truth but on perceptions. I ask you: what wrong have I done? Is there one shred of evidence to support any of these

allegations?

Sancheti is a businessman; he has got mining contracts in Chhattisgarh, he was favoured, all this has been said by people of your party, we don’t dream up things.

I know that family; they has been associated with the RSS. His grandfather was a sanghchalak, his uncle was three-time MLA of the Jana Sangh, his uncle’s brother is incumbent MLA. If a good and resourceful person joins the party, we will benefit from it.

How much resources can Sancheti and others can collect for the party?

First, Sancheti has not even collected a rupee till now. A person can be resourcefull through knowledge, business, experience of infrastructure, expert on economy, creativity. He has a big business house, this does not become a ground for his disqualification.

You also said that you will not give a Rajya Sabha ticket to Bal Apte.

Apteji is a selfless partyworker; he told me that he would not want to contest next elections.

What is the BJP policy? I hear that no person can get more than two terms RS.

That is not the case, we have taken decisions as exceptions. Now Venkaiah Naidu has been given third term.

What about SS Ahluwalia?

He was asked if he would contest in Jharkhand, he said no. We had offered him the first ticket.

But there is no policy. If you have to give a ticket to somebody, you find a way for him or her.

Najma Heptullah is a good parliamentarian, hence she was given ticket again from Madhya Pradesh.

So there’a a quota. Like Sancheti is in Gadkari’s account, Heptullah is in Advani account, Dharmendra Pradhan in some other...

This is your problem, the Delhi media. Your credibility is getting eroded. Maharashtra parliamentary board elected Sancheti. Not because I said.

You seem to be troubled these days, moving constantly, meeting so many people, and now there is talk of a second term.

Firstly, I am not troubled.

Do you think BJP president should get a second term?

Media stars like you will

decide.

What about the RSS meeting in Madhya Pradesh where you were also present?

There is one Samanvay Baithak Charcha with the Sangha every year. Second, there was no discussion about my regime with the Sangh. Whatever role the party gives me, I will continue to do that for the coming 25 years. I have not gone to anybody and asked for a second term.

What role is the BJP going to play in the coming presidential election?

I have thought a lot, and spoken to many people, and I believe that the President of India must be a person who increases the respect of the country, a good person who can give direction to the country’s development, whether he is political or not.

Do you see any such person, a person like Atalji?

Why should I lay all my cards out in front of you? Wait and see what happens.

That means you have an ace up your sleeve.

100 per cent. Why should we tell anyone? We are the main

Opposition, and we have 31 per cent of the votes, while the UPA has 36 per cent. That leaves 33 per cent of the vote outside the two main blocs.

If that 48 per cent presents a candidate, will you think about it?

We have no request that somebody should be from our party only. This country’s democracy should be strong.

I am asking if the BJP will not insist that it should be their candidate?

Certainly. We will not insist on behalf of the BJP that the candidate should be ours; we only want a good person who increases the respect of the country.

Some people are saying the Vice-President will be a BJP candidate and president a Congress candidate.

There is no such proposal so far.

If the Congress offers...

What should I answer on if or when? If they offer, then I will give an answer. Till now, they have not given an offer.

You will get their Bills passed?

Please see, there are Bills in the national interest like the finance Bills, why should they be stopped?

Sharad Pawar said that it should be a non-political person.

He said the right thing,

So you support him?

Please don’t take everything politically, I agree with what he said in principle.

Kalam’s name is cropping up again and again.

I don’t know whether Kalam sahab wants to contest.

You said things about Modi on TV recently.

I said nothing. You are instigating a fight. Narendra Modi is a good leader of the party, senior leader in the party; we can

talk to him anytime and solve

all the things, there is no problem in that.

Generally speaking, preparations will begin in 2013 for the 2014 polls.  You have said before on Teekhi Baat that only a person who wins Lok Sabha elections can become Prime Minister.

All the people in contention for the Prime Minister’s post, whose names are in the public domain, all those people have told me that they will contest Lok Sabha elections. And I had said that among those, we will think over who should be out candidate.

Will you make an announcement?

That we will do on appropriate time. I will decide what the appropriate time is.

Have the constituencies of all the potential Prime Minister candidates of the BJP been decided?

I understand it as all the people who are potential prime minister candidates from our party, all of them are going to fight Lok Sabha elections.

And discussions have happened on those constituencies?

Individual discussions keep on happening on the issue of

planning.

Are you one of them?

Please see, I will fight elections, because I have been criticised for not being elected.

After that you will be PM candidate?

No, I don’t want to become prime minister.