I am not in race for BJP president, says Khanduri

Former Uttarakhand chief minister and senior BJP leader B C Khanduri on Sunday said he was not in the race for the party’s national president in place of Nitin Gadkari.

“I am not in any such race and I have also not received any such offer. All these reports are mere media speculation,” said Khanduri amid indications that the BJP is considering a move to replace Gadkari as the party president with a leader of “high integrity”, with an aim to face the challenge of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

However, sources close to Khanduri claimed that he is being projected as the new leader of the party due to his clean image and also for espousing the cause of the anti-corruption movement. Khanduri, who is credited for bringing a strong lokayukta Bill in the state, is likely to find support from senior BJP leaders like L K Advani for the post of the party’s president, in case Gadkari is asked to resign in January, the sources said.

But Khanduri might face opposition from a section of the party leaders who are supporting Gadkari for the second term. Former BJP president Rajnath Singh is not averse to the idea of giving a second term to Gadkari.

The BJP is in a fix as Gadkari is being constantly targeted by the anti-corruption activists, as well as the media of alleged impropriety in his businesses. Gadkari had taken the charge as party chief on December 19, 2009.

After the assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, speculation is rife in the media that the new national president of the party would take charge in the month of January.

However, the sources said there is still a lack of consensus among BJP leaders on the choice of new leader who could replace Gadkari.

Notably, a section of the RSS had recently lobbied for Arun Jaitley but the proposal was blocked by the Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat right at the outset. Also, Jaitley reportedly had the support of the Narendra Modi camp in the BJP.

Significantly, various senior BJP leaders including Ram Jethmalani, Shatrughan Sinha and Yashwant Sinha had opened a front against Gadkari, while demanding that the BJP chief should step down after facing such serious corruption charges.