'To become a prime minister...': Nitin Gadkari reveals he was approached by opposition for PM post

Union Minister for Transport and National Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has claimed that a senior opposition leader offered him the prime minister position if he switched flanks ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections.

Gadkari was speakingat the Anil Kumar Memorial Journalism Award Ceremony organised by the Nagpur Press Club on Saturday (Sep 14) when he made the claim.

"I do not want to name anyone but a person said to me, if you are going to become a prime minister, we will support you. I said, why you should support me, and why I should take your support," said Gadkari.

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The union minister said he flat-out refused to entertain such a possibility due to his 'convictions'.

"To become a prime minister is not the aim in my life. I am loyal to my conviction and organisation and I am not going to compromise for any post, because my conviction is most important to me. I think that this conviction is the biggest strength of Indian democracy," he added.

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Notably, there were concerns in the lead-up to the election that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) may not secure a majority. While BJP failed to reach its 2019 tally, the alliance still managed to come out on top and secure a third successive spell at the centre.

Gadkari has been one of the most efficient union ministers in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet with many seeing him as the leader to take over once the PM steps aside.

Journalists blackmailing officers

During the gathering, Gadkari also revealed an incident about a journalist 'blackmailing' one of his officers. The minister said he told the officer to thrash the journalist to teach him a lesson.

“One of my officers informed me about this blackmail. I told him, ‘When that journalist comes to your office, lock the door and give him a good thrashing.’ And they did. After that, the publication he worked for stopped circulating,” said Gadkari.

The Nagpur MP also shared another story from Marathwada, where a government official was harassed by a journalist demanding advertisements. Gadkari said the journalist even went as far as filing a police complaint accusing the official of misconduct.

(With inputs from agencies)