<div>&nbsp;Ahmedabad: With the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Elections campaign at its peak, the MahaYuti alliance &mdash; comprising Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) &mdash; and the Maha Vikas Aghadi &mdash; Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar) and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray &mdash; are leaving no stone unturned to ensure victory.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>
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<div>With a total of 288 seats at stake, any alliance will have to win a minimum of 145 seats to form a government in the state.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>Amid ramped up campaigning, senior BJP leader and Union minister Nitin Gadkari made a blasting statement.</div>
<div>While speaking to a news channel, Gadkari cited an example of crops, &ldquo;When the crop grows, it does get infected with disease. However, in order to ensure cure and to protect the crop, one has to apply pesticide.&rdquo;</div>
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<div>He further added, &ldquo;Similarly, when the party is expanding and growing, some tainted politicians may get entry into the party. Such turncoats (pests) need to be cleaned up with the party ideology and undergo training to learn to work in accordance with the party regulations.&rdquo;</div>
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<div>His statement sends a clear message to party leaders, at the helm of affairs, that all is not well. What they are doing to expand the party and its reach is also creating problems for the party and discouraging party ranks, agonizing old guards and committed workers.</div>
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<div>Gadkari&rsquo;s statement must have sent a very strong message to a certain political duo from Gujarat, who are in total control of the party. They importing politicians from different political parties, even those with serious charges of corruption and/or having criminal records, because they want the BJP to win at any cost.</div>
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<div>The party is even abuzz with rumours that the duo is creating their own ranks and followers within the party, compromising the ideology it used to stand for. A few leaders and workers have even stated in hushed tones that the BJP is slowly becoming like Congress.</div>
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<div>Till the 2024 Lok Sabha elections results, no one in the saffron party had the guts to speak against the duo, in private or public. But all that is past. Now, right from the top brass of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to senior leaders from the right-wing party, everyone has started speaking out about the duo in public. It is a firm stance, that indicates that change is indeed coming, and soon.</div>
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<div>With a myriad of choices to be considered, the party is still undecided on party president JP Nadda&rsquo;s successor. If Sangh sources are to be believed, it may not approve of the candidate chosen by the duo in question.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>
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<div>In fact, Sangh&rsquo;s top brass have begun approaching all old guards of the BJP as well as its sister organizations, who were either shunted out or sidelined by the duo. The RSS approached old members is a clear message that it is seriously thinking of bringing the party &lsquo;back on track&rsquo;. It means that the RSS wants the BJP to reign only in the hands of those who are loyal and committed to the Sangh, and the party&rsquo;s ideology and not to the duo.</div>
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<div>The statement made by Nitin Gadkari should be interpreted as a glimpse of the happenings within the party and the Sangh behind the scenes.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>
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<div>After reigning supreme in Gujarat for many years, the duo is out to prove that the party is nothing without them and cannot retain power in the Centre or any states.</div>
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<div>Meanwhile, the RSS, its sister organizations and those who have grown-up within the Sangh culture and party ranks, are now out to take the party&rsquo;s reins in their hands.&nbsp;</div>
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<div>This &lsquo;cleanup drive&rsquo; can prove to be a major overhaul within the party. Politically or electorally, the party may have to face a few setbacks, a risk, those working on the revamp must have taken into consideration.</div>

Statement comes after BJP’s recent induction of politicians from rival parties

Gadkari echoes party’s concern by calling turncoats ‘pests’

Statement comes after BJP’s recent induction of politicians from rival parties

November 11, 2024 | 18:00 IST