Nitin Gadkari

Nitin Jairam Gadkari (/nitin ɡʌdkʌˈri/ (); born 27 May 1957) is an Indian politician and businessman from Maharashtra who is the current Minister for Road Transport & Highways of India and Shipping Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Government of India. Gadkari earlier served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2010 to 2013. He is also known for his work as the Public Works Department Minister of the State of Maharashtra, where, under his leadership, a series of roads, highways and flyovers across the state were constructed – including the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, India's first six-lane concrete, high-speed expressway. Gadkari is closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is headquartered in his home constituency of Nagpur. He currently represents the Nagpur constituency in the Lok Sabha, and is a lawyer and industrialist by occupation.

Nitin Gadkari was born into a Marathi family in Nagpur, India to Jairam Gadkari and Bhanutai Gadkari. During his adolescence, he worked for the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and the student union Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. He completed M.Com. and L.L.B. from Nagpur University.

Nitin Gadkari served as the Minister of Public Works Department (PWD) of the Government of Maharashtra from 1995 to 1999 and restructured it from top to bottom. He has served as the president of the Maharashtra BJP.

Gadkari strongly supported privatisation while he campaigned for investments in infrastructure from private firms. He addressed several meetings between private investors, contractors, builders and various trade organisations and diverted large amounts of budgeted projects towards privatisation. Subsequently, the state government allocated Rs. 7 billion for rural connectivity. Over the next four years, all-weather road connectivity in Maharashtra was extended to 98% of the population. The project aimed to connect 13,736 remote villages which remained unconnected since independence by road. It also helped ameliorate malnutrition in remote Melghat-Dharni area of Amravati district, which previously had no access to medical aid, ration or educational facilities.

The Union Government appointed him as the Chairman of National Rural Road Development Committee. After a series of meetings and studies, Gadkari submitted his report to the central government and gave the presentation to the Hon. Prime Minister of India. His new report was accepted and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, an ambitious rural road connecting scheme worth ₹600 billion, was launched.

Just before the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly Elections, Election Commission of India on 6 October 2014 issued a show cause notice to Gadkari for "statements to the effect of inducing the voters to take bribe" during campaigning in Maharashtra assembly polls. According to the English translation of the speech made by the former BJP president in Marathi, he had allegedly said: "Now, I am watching your faces and I have some skill of predicting the future by way of face reading. You have an opportunity of "Laxmi darshan" in next 10 days. Special people to get foreign made, ordinary people to get local brand. All are Gandhivadis asking for ₹5000. In these days of inflation, keep one thing in mind, eat what you wish and drink what you desire. Keep whatever you get. This is the time when illegally earned money can go to poor. Therefore, do not say no to Laxmi. But think while you vote. Your vote should be for the development of Maharashtra." The Election Commission said his statement amounts to "abetting and promoting the electoral offence of bribery" within the meaning of Section 171 B read with Section 17l E of the IPC as it includes offering food, drink or entertainment.

Positions served

• Minister, Govt of Maharashtra
• Chairman, Purti Group of Companies
• President, Bharatiya Janata Party, Maharashtra State
• Leader of Opposition, Maharashtra Legislative Council
• Former Minister for Public Works Department, Maharashtra State
• Member of Legislative Council, Maharashtra State
• Elected to the Maharashtra Govt. Legislative Council in 1989 from graduates constituency, Nagpur Region
• Re-elected in 1990
• Re-elected in 1996 and elected unopposed in 2002
• Inducted in the Maharashtra State Government Cabinet as the Minister for Public Works on 27 May 1995
• Member of the High Power Committee for Privatisation, Government of Maharashtra
• Chairman, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, India
• Guardian Minister for Nagpur District, Govt. of Maharashtra
• Chairman, Mining policy Implementation Committee, Govt. of Maharashtra
• Chairman, Metropolis Beautification Committee, Govt. of Maharashtra
• Leader of Opposition, Maharashtra Legislative Council, Chairman National Rural Road Development Committee
• Chairman, Review Committee of CPWD, Govt. of India
• State President of Bhartiya Janata Party, Maharashtra
• National President of BJP, India

As Public Works Department (PWD) Minister, Maharashtra, 1996–99

As PWD Minister of Maharashtra, Gadkari played a crucial rule in expediting the construction of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. In 1990, the Government of Maharashtra conducted feasibility studies for the new expressway to be operated on a toll basis, however, it was only after Gadkari took over as PWD Minister that the construction of this project was fast-tracked. Gadkari entrusted the work of the construction of Mumbai-Pune expressway to MSRDC in March 1997 on Build-Operate-Transfer basis with permission to collect toll for 30 years. The tender notice was published in leading newspapers all over India and also on the Internet. Due to the wide publicity, 133 tenders were sold and on 18 December 1997, 55 tenders were received. After technical and financial evaluation, tenders were accepted and work orders were given on 1 January 1998 to four contractors. Thereafter tenders for widening of the Khandala and Lonavala-Khandala bypass works were invited. The tenders were received on 24 August 1998 and orders were issued on 4 September 1998. The first sections of the Expressway opened in 2000, and the entire route was completed, opened to traffic and made fully operational from April 2002.

The other major achievement of Gadkari as state minister was the construction of 55 flyovers in Mumbai, which eased the city traffic problems significantly.

As President of BJP, 2009–2013

Gadkari was appointed the president of the BJP in December 2009. This was considering a tough phase for the BJP as the party had lost two successive Lok Sabha elections and needed a quick revamp.

As party president, right from the start, Gadkari made his agenda very clear. He focused almost entirely on the ‘politics of development’. In his book, India Aspires, co-authored with leading Indian author Tuhin Sinha, Gadkari spells out his development ideas for the country in great detail. Increased institutional support to green energy, alternate fuel and effective waste management hold special importance in Gadkari's development plan. At a time when the country was plagued with the problem of policy paralysis under the UPA, Gadkari's proactive approach towards development, set a new and positive agenda for the country's politics.

As party president, Gadkari, re-emphasized on legendary Jan Sangh leader Deen Dayal Upadhya's principles of Integral Humanism and Antyodaya (upliftment of the poor). At the same time, various cells were constituted within the party to regularly monitor the develop work undertaken by various BJP state governments and to come up with new policy inputs.

Gadkari resigned as party president in January 2013.

2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections

Gadkari contested 2014 Lok Sabha election successfully from Nagpur constituency and won. He defeated Congress party candidate Vilas Muttemwar by margin of 285,000. He retained his seat in 2019, defeating Nana Patole of Congress party by 216,000 margin.

Union Minister

Gadkari became the Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Minister of Shipping in May 2014. Out of the stalled projects he inherited, projects worth ₹1 trillion (US$14 billion) were terminated and others worth ₹350 billion (US$4.9 billion) were put up for rebidding. He increased the pace of road creation in the country from 2 km/day to 16.5 km/day in his first year and to 21 km/day in the second year and end of 2018 30 km/day. He reserved an amount of one percent of the total projects awarded in his tenure worth ₹2 trillion (US$28 billion) for trees and beautification.

During the Second Modi ministry, Gadkari retained Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, while the Ministry of Shipping and Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation were replaced with Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises on 31 May 2019.

During his career in politics, Gadkari set up a number of private industries and companies. These include –

• Poly sack Industrial Society Ltd – founder and chairman
• Nikhil Furniture and Appliances Pvt. Ltd – promoter and director
• Antyodaya Trust – founder and member
• Empress Employees Co-operative Paper Mills Ltd – founder and chairman
• Purti Power and Sugar Ltd / Purti Sakhar Karkhana Ltd – promoter

Gadkari has registered himself as an agriculturist for tax purposes. He also started a fruit export company under the banner of "Ketaki overseas Trading Company". He owns a total of 17 sugar plantations in Vidarbha under the banner of the Purti group. Nitin Gadkari floated the Purti Power and Sugar Ltd (now Purti Group) in 1995, when he started as PWD minister in Maharashtra. In 2012, the companies came into the media glare based on irregularities unearthed by RTI activist Anjali Damania, the Income Tax department investigated a number of firms that had invested in Purti, and found more than a dozen of these to be bogus addresses. Another three investing firms were found co-located with the Somani Group, but no one knew of these firms.

In 2010, when the Purti group had incurred losses of Rs. 640 million, the firm IRB, which had obtained hefty road contracts under Gadkari's term as PWD minister, loaned the group Rs. 1.64 billion, which was higher than Purthi's turnover of Rs. 1.45 billion. When questioned on Marathi channel IBN-Lokmat, about why he did not avail a loan from banks, Gadkari explained that the balance sheets of the company were not in a suitable state, so he had requested his friend Dattatray to help him out. Also, Gadkari's son Nikhil was allegedly a director with IRB at the time. Gadkari argued that there was nothing wrong in having contractors invest in one's firms, but opposition leaders have argued that all this suggests a quid pro quo for political favours granted by Gadkari.

The news of these allegations broke a few months before Gadkari was to seek re-election as president of the BJP. At the time, Gadkari was to address several rallies for the 2012 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election. India Today reported that BJP leader Shanta Kumar had suggested that Gadkari's presence was "affecting BJP's anti-corruption campaign." Subsequently, Gadkari cancelled his scheduled rallies at Bilaspur and Solan on 30 October.

In early 2013, in the elections for BJP president, for which Gadkari was "close to clinching a second innings" his chances unravelled with several senior leaders suggesting that the I-T indictment of the Purti groups investments had damaged his image, and Gadkari was not re-elected. Gadkari told the Times of India that he was stepping down until the inquiry proved him innocent. Some RSS functionaries have suggested that his exit was the result of infighting. Subsequently, Gadkari threatened the I-T officers, saying "when our party comes to power, there would be no Chidambaram or Sonia to save them (I-T officials)"; Gadkari said,"Earlier CBI was doing Congress's bidding and now the I-T people are following suit." The I-T officers association took umbrage at these remarks and demanded an apology.

Eventually, in May 2013, the Income Tax department assessed that Gadkari's firms had evaded Rs. 70 million via such benami investments and other practices. On 30 April. 2014, then Congress union Minister Manish Tewari apologised to Nitin Gadkari when he was dragged in to a defamation suit by the latter. This apology was based on the judicial commission mention that Gadkari had played no role or had no concern with the scam. On 13 May 2014, the Income Tax department of Maharashtra state cleared Nitin Gadkari's name and gave him a clean chit saying there is no investigation presently pending.

Nitin Gadkari is married to Kanchan Gadkari and they have three children, Nikhil, Sarang and Krishaan . His eldest son Nikhil is married to Rutuja Pathak and Sarang Gadkari is married to Madhura Rodi. Gadkari family follows a vegetarian diet.

In August 2019 Gadkari created controversy when he stated that he had advised the Union Finance Minister to "throw out" the RBI Governor because the latter was inflexible and adamant. Earlier in January 2019 he had stated that leaders who failed to deliver on promises should get beaten up by people.