But the BJP chief rules himself out of contention for prime minister’s post.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said he will contest the next Lok Sabha election but sought to rule himself out of contention for the party’s prime ministerial candidate. DNA was the first to report about Gadkari’s plan to contest elections.
Gadkari said his party will name its prime ministerial candidate at the appropriate time. “The only reason the Congress is demanding that the BJP name its potential PM is because they know that in 2014, there will not be a Congress PM,” Gadkari said while hosting a Diwali party for the media in Mumbai.
The BJP chief said he will contest from Nagpur, his hometown. Party officials said the reason he was contesting the elections was to bust the myth that he lacked the ability to get elected. But some believe it is because he intends to throw his hat in the ring for becoming the next prime minister, should the BJP become the largest party.
Praising senior BJP leader LK Advani’s rath yatra, he said the scandal surrounding former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, who quit as CM after he was charged with involvement in an illegal mining scam in Bellary, would have no impact on the BJP’s anti-corruption campaign. He said the Congress had no right to criticise the BJP. “The probe into the Commonwealth Games scam indicted Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit (of the Congress party), but she has not quit her post,” he pointed out.
He also asked, “What wrong has Yeddyurappa done?” But when asked to comment on the Karnataka Lok Ayukta’s charges, he refused.
He also blasted the Congress for targeting all those who were involved in anti-corruption campaigns. “It is the Congress habit to start investigations against those who are against the party, whether it is Anna Hazare or Baba Ramdev or Kiran Bedi,” he said.
He added that the people in the country were tired of the various scams and was sure that in 2014, the Congress would lose the elections.
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