'Modi, not me, will be PM again'

Nitin Gadkari who calmly shoots down any talk of him being the prime ministerinwaiting with a no one but Modi will remain in the high office was on home turf on Tuesday Even though his road show wound through an area he considered weak in terms of expected voteshare for the BJP the north side of Nagpur city the response was overwhelmingIn this part of the city Dalits and Muslims dominate the electoral rolls Yet people lined up to shower flower petals on the Union minister and shake his hand as a thousand bikeborne BJPShiv Sena workers piloted him through the wide and narrow roadsNitin Gadkari interacting with the people of north Nagpur on TuesdayGadkari breaks for a simple lunch of dal chapati and rice at home served by his wife Kanchan He interacts freely with midday ahead of some more frenetic campaigning not only for himself but also for six other BJPSena candidates in eastern Vidarbha whose fate will be sealed on April 11He is confident of securing a handsome win against Congressnominee Nana Patole Gadkaris protege when he was in the BJP only because of his development work in the region and the countryBut he neatly skirts a query on his prospects of becoming the next PM saying that no one but Narendra Modi will remain in the high office and predicts a historic win for BJP with more than 300 seats this electionAlso ReadPM Modi at rally in Bihar Opposition acting like spokespersons of PakistanExcerpts from the chatA taxi driver who dropped me here said you dont need to campaign at all Koi kuch bhi kare Gadkari saab hi chunke aane wale hain come what may Mr Gadkaris win is certainLaughs in his inimitable style Yeah I have been hearing that from many people Its the unconditional love that the people of Nagpur have for me Im always available and meet people regularly My efforts have helped develop the city exactly as the people demanded They have seen what they havent been able to get in the past so many decadesThis is perhaps the only constituency that has a strong contender in you who comes from a caste group that doesnt have a large presence Political analysts say your principal opponent was selected based on his caste which if polarised may tilt the battle his wayI dont believe in the caste system In fact none of the BJP candidates in Vidarbha have been given tickets based on caste My party is not founded on the social evil and it was because of this approach that the BJP has grown by leaps and bounds My party will continue to grow further We know people dont cast their votes for candidates of their respective castes but for those who work tirelessly for themWe see a restless person in you who floats ideas At times you are ridiculed but you stand your ground Being out of power did not stop you from experimenting notwithstanding the resultI love innovations I experiment be it cooperative ventures like sugar factories supermarkets or banks biodiesel plants or using ethanol as a replacement for conventional vehicle fuel I have also experimented with infrastructure projects I have encouraged young professionals to take up construction jobs and arranged financial assistance for them This is how more employment was generated and countrys growth rate was boosted A model that I created for the MumbaiPune expressway turned out to be a gamechanger in the countrys highway construction I have been able to revive stalled projects and plan new onesIs it acceptable to you when your admirers say you have surpassed the most hardworking ministers of the Congress the UPA and NDA1I wont accept this admiration because for me the late Atal ji Vajpayee and the late George Fernandes continue to be my ideals These two leaders were huge visionaries and very effective as policy makers and taskmasters I have learned from them and try to implement their teachings while performing my ministerial duties or otherwise I work with the same passion even when my party is not in power In fact I have spent considerable time in the Opposition yet people have been supporting meYou speak of development but a section of Vidarbhaites allege that you have discriminated against the western part of the backward region They say all the development is concentrated in Nagpur and other eastern districtsI havent discriminated against anyone I have given thousands of crores to the Amravati division five districts for water resources I have given them many projects When it comes to my active part in that region I admit that I have some limitations but I want other likeminded people to come forward I will always be there to help themAlso ReadRahul Gandhi South India feels neglected by PM Narendra ModiYour opponents are critical of development projects like the Metro network cement roads industrial projects that they say are only on paperThey dont have anything else to say The years to come will show them how developed Nagpur and the rest of Vidarbha can be I dont even take my opponents names when I appeal to the people for their blessings Why should IThe agrarian crisis continues even as you talk of increasing irrigation potential by at least doubleFarming issues arent a recent phenomenon It will take some more time and creation of water resources Gadkari heads this ministry to make farming sustainable I think we need to change our cropping pattern because we overgrow many things while depending on imports for edible oil So we need to focus on the crops that we dont grow in larger quantities We also need to create national and international markets for our farm produce Im very proud to say that our cooperative sends 30 containers of vegetables from Nagpur to the Middle East every month Change is in the offing for sureThe movement for a separate Vidarbha accuses you of breaching a promise that a new state would be carved out by the BJP Recently you threatened a group of protesters who tried to disrupt your public meetingMy party still stands by the demand for a separate Vidarbha We had a resolution to this effect passed at our national executive I havent breached any promise The matter is still alive and the Parliament may decide on it at an appropriate time I asked the troublemakers to let me speak When they continued I had to warn them because their behaviour was bound to anger a larger audience that had come to see meAny chance of you being in the PMO Your supporters in Nagpur openly say they would be voting for a PM candidate this timeBJPs going to win more than 300 seats Narendra Modi will again be the PMAlso ReadPM Modi terms National Conference demand for Kashmir PM serious issueCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates