Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, shared a personal anecdote at the Anil Kumar Patrakarita Puraskar Samaroh in Nagpur on Saturday (September 14, 2024). Speaking at the event organized by Vidarbha Gaurav Pratishthan, Nitin Gadkari revealed that a senior leader from an opposition party had once offered to support him in running for the Prime Minister’s position. However, Nitin Gadkari declined the offer, saying, “Becoming Prime Minister was never my goal.”

He refrained from naming the leader or specifying when the conversation took place but recalled the individual saying, “Mr. Gadkari, if you’re going to run for Prime Minister, we will back you.” Gadkari questioned why such support was offered, emphasizing that his personal convictions and loyalty to his party were far more important than any political position.

“I am committed to my beliefs and my organization,” Gadkari asserted. “I will not compromise my values for any post because, for me, conviction is what matters the most. It is this conviction that strengthens Indian democracy.”

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During his speech, Nitin Gadkari also highlighted the significance of ethics in both journalism and politics. He stressed that democracy can only succeed when all four pillars—the judiciary, executive, legislature, and media—operate with integrity.

He recalled a conversation with a senior Communist Party of India (CPI) leader, where they discussed the late A.B. Bardhan, a prominent politician from Nagpur. Gadkari praised Bardhan for his loyalty to his ideology, stating that even though Bardhan opposed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), he did so with honesty. “We respected him for that. Unfortunately, today, both politics and journalism lack people with such integrity,” Gadkari remarked.

It’s noteworthy that there had been speculation about Gadkari as a potential Prime Ministerial candidate in both the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. While he was appointed Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Minister of Shipping in 2014, he continued to hold the Road Transport and Highways portfolio in his second term in 2019, with added responsibilities in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Gadkari again won from the Nagpur constituency in the 2024 elections.

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