Union Transport and National Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday claimed that a senior opposition leader had offered him the prime minister’s post ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but he declined it. Addressing the media fraternity during a journalism awards ceremony, Nitin Gadkari said, “I told the leader that I am a person who follows an ideology and belief. I am in a party that has given me everything I had never imagined. No offer can tempt me.”
However, Nitin Gadkari did not name the opposition leader nor did he give details about the incident. He said that a senior opposition leader had contacted me before the 2024 general elections. At that time it was believed that the BJP would not be able to get an absolute majority and it might need the support of some opposition parties to form the government. He said, “I told him clearly that I have grown up with certain principles and beliefs and I will not compromise on them.”
It is noteworthy that BJP did not get absolute majority in the Lok Sabha elections. BJP got only 240 seats, after which it had to form a coalition government with the help of parties like TDP, JDU. BJP got majority on its own in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. This time the opposition led by Congress formed India Alliance, which contested elections together across the country. The result was that BJP, which claimed to cross 400 for NDA, remained far from the majority figure. However, Narendra Modi again became the Prime Minister for the third time. Nitin Gadkari has also become a Union Minister in the BJP government for the third consecutive time.
