RSS does not want Modi: Wadettiwar

Vijay Wadettiwar; (right) Nitin Gadkari. Pic/Satej Shinde

Opposition leader in Maharashtra Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar claimed that the RSS did not want Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to rule the country. He said a leader from Maharashtra (read Nitin Gadkari), who is an RSS-preferred alternative for the top position, was troubled time and again by the duo.

Addressing a media conference on Thursday, Wadettiwar said, "When the BJP leaders [party president J P Nadda] say that they don't need the RSS, the RSS must also have thought that it does not need Modi and Shah. There was a buzz in the Nagpur RSS circles the other day over Modi's overnight stay in Nagpur during the Lok Sabha poll campaign. Modi did not visit the RSS headquarters whereas his predecessors like Atal Behari Vajpayee had visited the headquarters."

Gadkari and his wife Kanchan being garlanded by party workers. Pic/PTI

The Congress leader said he had heard about the people saying that Gadkari could save his Nagpur seat because Modi did not address a rally there. He added the BJP would not be able to form a coalition government in New Delhi because some parties would leave the NDA.

‘Nothing as such'

Following Wadettiwar's claim, mid-day attempted a fact check with the BJP and RSS associates in Nagpur on Thursday. One of the people close to Gadkari said there was no such move as of now. "People here understand very clearly that Modi will not concede his position at this point in time. He has the numbers to be the PM. He seems to be in a comfortable position," he said.

Vijay Wadettiwar, leader of Opposition, state Assembly, atpublic meeting in Bhandara on Apr 13. Pic/Satej Shinde

Gadkari's name comes up every time there is a need for a flexible leader, said another person from Nagpur.

"It could be in the news again because the BJP is going to have a coalition government with partners having a chequered past. People say Modi doesn't have experience running such governments, but there is something called ‘learning on the job'. Let's wait and watch. There is no initiation from the RSS in this regard," said another leader who would know development, if any. "Modi and Shah have fulfilled the RSS agenda. What remains is the uniform civil code, Kashi and Mathura. The duo may attempt to go for the first. The other two can wait," he said.