As his rally reached his home, someone from the crowd on the dais, which had been set up in his front yard, said, “Gadkari has arrived.”
It took Nitin Gadkari slightly longer than expected to return home on Sunday.
But in the five hours that he travelled 15 km from the airport to his ancestral home in Mahal, his party men, supporters, and fans did everything possible to make his home-coming after he was made the BJP national president a journey to remember.
Tired but happy, the 52-year-old leader waved at the crowds from atop a decorated mini truck. As his rally reached his home, someone from the crowd on the dais, which had been set up in his front yard, said, “Gadkari has arrived.”
“It’s a very emotional moment for me,” Gadkari, drenched in sweat, said. “There are several people who shaped me — I am what I am because of all of you and your efforts; I had never dreamt of holding the post that had been held by Atalji and Advaniji in the past.”
Thousands of supporters stood on the road to welcome the new president, the city roads dotted with welcome banners and hoardings all over. Cutting across party lines, the orange city leadership termed his appointment “significant”.
“It is an important development for the city,” People’s Republican Party leader Jogendra Jawade said. “Gadkari’s achievement is commendable,” MP Vilas Muttemwar said.
Catapulted to the national political centre-stage, Gadkari looked composed as he waved to the crowds amidst the sound of crackers. “It is a responsibility for which I need your blessings and well wishes,” he said.
He later told reporters that he would not contest any polls for three years. “My party will decide if I should stay in the legislative council,” he replied to a question. At present he is a member of the upper house from the Nagpur graduates’ constituency.
His first priority, Gadkari said, was to increase the party’s mass base voting. He said he would be revealing the party’s future policies before the press on December 24 in New Delhi. “I want to make sure”, he said, “that the party speaks in coherence from the national to the local level.”
“The party needs to expand all over the country,” he said. If that meant inviting people like Uma Bharti who had left the party, Gadkari said, “If needed, yes.”
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