BJP to soon decide leader for Maharashtra Assembly poll

Gadkari, Fadnavis considered frontrunners

The Maharashtra unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday discussed as to who would lead the party in the Assembly polls slated for October, following the untimely death of Gopinath Munde.

The issue came up for discussion at the party's executive which concluded on Thursday. State leaders agreed to meet the party’s central leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to settle the leadership issue and also work out nitty-gritties with regard to seat-sharing with National Democratic Alliance ally, the Shiv Sena.

The names of Union Minister for Transport and Rural Development Nitin Gadkari and state unit chief Devendra Fadnavis have been doing the rounds as possible candidates. Incidentally, both are Brahmins from Nagpur, which is the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).

Gadkari recently announced that he was not keen to come back to the state. “Initially, I was not interested in national politics in Delhi, and now, I am not interested in leaving Delhi and coming back to Maharashtra politics,” Gadkari had recently told his supporters.

But, a section of the RSS and BJP firmly believe that Gadkari can keep all party allies in good humour and also pacify groups within the party.

On the other hand, some party members pitch for Fadnavis to lead the party on the grounds that he is a good orator, lacks any corruption charges and is quite close to Narendra Modi.

Another section of party members believe that there is no leader who can match Munde’s stature and mass base and therefore it would be wise for the party to go in for a collective leadership comprising Gadkari, Fadnavis, leader of opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Eknath Khadse, leader of opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council Vinod Tawde and former state unit chief Sudhir Mungantiwar, to win the Assembly polls.

“Our objective is to dislodge the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government in Maharashtra. A BJP- led government has already been formed at the Centre and it is time for a MahaYuti (comprising BJP, Shiv Sena, Republican Party of India, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana and Rashtriya Samaj Party) government to be formed in the state. The BJP will face the Assembly polls with a collective leadership,” Maharashtra BJP spokesman Madhu Chavan told Business Standard.