NAGPUR: A day after most of the exit polls predicted the return of the BJP-led NDA after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday met RSS general secretary Bhaiyaji Joshi in Maharashtra’s Nagpur.
Senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya was also present during the meeting, which lasted for nearly two hours, according to reports.
Though the RSS leader refused to give any comments on the exit poll predictions, the sources said that the outcome of the exit polls and the emerging political situation also came up for the discussion. during the meeting between the three top figures.
When quizzed by the reporters, Vijayvargiya sated that the meeting had nothing to do with the exit poll predictions, instead, it was called to discuss the Antyodaya scheme.
Vijayavargiya also expressed concerns over reports of violence during election campaigning and polling across West Bengal.
The senior MP leader said that Bengal, TMC and violence are synonymous of each other.
Vijayvargiya also categorically ruled out that he was in the race to become the next BJP president.
He also praised BJP chief Amit Shah for strengthening the party during his tenure and expressed confidence that saffron party may win big in Mamata Banerjee’s state.
Gadkari had on Sunday said that the exit polls are not the “final decision” but they indicate that the BJP will once again come to power, riding on the development work done by the NDA government.
“Exit polls are not the final decision but are indications. But, by and large, what comes out in the exit polls also reflects in the results,” Gadkari said, replying to a query.
The senior BJP leader made these remarks while launching the poster of ‘PM Narendra Modi’, a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is being released this Friday.
Most exit polls have forecast another term for PM Modi, with some of them projecting that the BJP-led NDA would get over 300 seats to comfortably cross the majority mark of 272 in the Lok Sabha.
Seeking to set the record straight on speculations of him being in the prime ministerial race, Gadkari asserted that the new BJP-led government will be formed under PM Modi’s leadership.
Asked if his name was also being considered for the PM’s post, Gadkari said, “I have clarified it around 20 to 50 times. We fought the elections under the leadership of Modiji and he will certainly become the prime minister again.”
