Social cause is Nitin Gadkari’s new idea to reconnect with people

Taking his “politics for a cause” plan further, BJP president Nitin Gadkari has asked all senior members of the party to espouse on a cause to reconnect with people.

Gadkari, who will be meeting the party’s organisational
secretaries and general secretaries (usually RSS men on deputation to the party) from across the country in Mumbai on Friday, will also set the process of BJP’s search for the next big idea in motion.

A party source said the party has turned a corner when it comes to the Ram Temple movement, with several party members claiming quite openly during the debate on the Liberhan Commission report that whatever political mileage could be got from the movement has now run its course.

“The party was lucky that the Ram Temple issue and the Shah Bano case came up concurrently within a short period of time, now we need to do some soul searching,” he said.

Gadkari seems to have hit on the politics-for-development idea, to get back into the good books of the civil society, which had turned off in a big way from the party for remaining out of power for a long time.

“Simplicity, sincerity and the ability to help people in real terms is the message,” a person close to Gadkari said. “Our legal cell could provide free legal aid, the doctors’ cell could conduct free check ups, the women’s cell could take up distribution of iron tablets as many Indian women are anaemic,” a source said.