Chamba (Himachal):As the assembly elections approach in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, BJP is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the party's win in both poll-bound states. Subsequently, top leadership is conducting multiple rallies while trying to connect to people on the ground. On Tuesday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also joined the fray and sought votes for his party in Himachal Pradesh's Chamba.
In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat's Anamika Ratna, Gadkari spoke about the elections and also the rumours of him having a rift with some party leaders especially since he, earlier this year, was excluded from the BJP's parliamentary board.
Exclusive - 'I am not upset with BJP, I never get': Nitin Gadkari Expressing his disappointment over the media for cooking up "baseless" stories of him being upset with the party, he said: "I am not upset and I never get. Being a BJP worker is a matter of great pride for me. I am a bit upset with the media for twisting my statements which I never said and publishing them and then followed by the other media houses."
Asked about his exclusion from the party's parliamentary board, Gadkari said: "You should ask (JP) Nadda ji. He can only answer this as he is the party president." Taking about the upcoming polls, Gadkari said that the BJP had ingrained trust among the people of Himachal and Gujarat because of the developmental works done by the double-engine government.
"In 2014, our government came to power in the centre under the leadership of Modiji and since then the government of double engine has done tremendous developmental works in the state. Earlier, Himachal had three National Highways, now it has 66. Our focus is to ensure further development of all the states," the senior BJP leader said.
Also read: India indebted to former PM Manmohan Singh for economic reforms: Gadkari
Asked whether top leaders' credibility is at stake as Gujarat is the home state to PM Modi while Himachal is the home state to JP Nadda, Gadkari said, "BJP is the party of workers and every election is a matter of reputation for the president to workers". About the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he said: "What the opposition will do is up to them, but we will fight these elections on a positive note and win them."
Expressing his disappointment over the media for cooking up "baseless" stories of him being upset with the party, he said: "I am not upset and I never get. Being a BJP worker is a matter of great pride for me. I am a bit upset with the media for twisting my statements which I never said and publishing them and then followed by the other media houses."
About the Aam Aadmi Party registering its presence in both states, Gadkari said: "I just look at my party. In Indian politics, elections are always polarised between two parties, but ahead of elections third and fourth parties come into the fray and create a buzz. After the results, everyone gets to know the reality. So everyone has the right to contest an election in a democracy, they can try it"
On AAP and even the Congress offering freebies, the Union Minister said: "When it comes to freebies, I believe that people are smarter than politicians, they keep what they get, but they vote with their discretion, so the public is not going to fall prey to freebies."
Talking about the Morbi bridge collapse, Gadkari claimed that they are coming up with a device that can access the condition of the bridge and can raise an alert ahead of a mishap. "We will give this technology to all the states and the municipal corporations," he said.
