<p>Former BJP president Nitin Gadkari will contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from his home town Nagpur, thereby giving an indication that he nurtures the aspiration of bouncing back in national politics.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Party president Rajnath Singh, who succeeded Gadkari, has given the go ahead so that he can concentrate on his constituency. <br /><br />Singh, who has declared that the party is ready to face elections even if it is held prior to 2014, is expected to announce a brief list of candidates towards the end of May.<br /><br />Gadkari’s name may figure in that list that will have names of only those candidates who are confident of making it to Parliament. This will be Gadkari’s first tryst with elections at the national level. A former minister in the Maharashtra government, Gadkari made his foray into electoral politics in 1989 when he was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council. <br /><br />However, Gadkari is waging a battle over his party rival and senior leader Gopinath Munde over getting his candidate to head the Maharashtra unit of the BJP. The former party president is facing strong opposition from Munde who favours Nagpur MLA Devendra Phadnavis, while Gadkari wants Sudhir Mungantiwar to continue as state unit chief. Due to factionalism, Singh is unable to decide on who should hold the post of state unit chief despite several rounds of consultations. <br /><br />About a week ago, a delegation led by Leader of the Opposition in Assembly Eknath Khadse met Singh to arrive at a consensus. Meanwhile, the BJP, already in poll mode, has decided not to hold the “age factor” against probable candidates. The party is also thinking of handing out poll responsibility to its office-bearers in a month so that the process could start early. Singh in his address to office-bearers on Sunday had predicted that the situation is favourable to the BJP and that the cadre should be ready to exploit the anti-Congress sentiment.</p>
<p>Former BJP president Nitin Gadkari will contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from his home town Nagpur, thereby giving an indication that he nurtures the aspiration of bouncing back in national politics.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Party president Rajnath Singh, who succeeded Gadkari, has given the go ahead so that he can concentrate on his constituency. <br /><br />Singh, who has declared that the party is ready to face elections even if it is held prior to 2014, is expected to announce a brief list of candidates towards the end of May.<br /><br />Gadkari’s name may figure in that list that will have names of only those candidates who are confident of making it to Parliament. This will be Gadkari’s first tryst with elections at the national level. A former minister in the Maharashtra government, Gadkari made his foray into electoral politics in 1989 when he was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council. <br /><br />However, Gadkari is waging a battle over his party rival and senior leader Gopinath Munde over getting his candidate to head the Maharashtra unit of the BJP. The former party president is facing strong opposition from Munde who favours Nagpur MLA Devendra Phadnavis, while Gadkari wants Sudhir Mungantiwar to continue as state unit chief. Due to factionalism, Singh is unable to decide on who should hold the post of state unit chief despite several rounds of consultations. <br /><br />About a week ago, a delegation led by Leader of the Opposition in Assembly Eknath Khadse met Singh to arrive at a consensus. Meanwhile, the BJP, already in poll mode, has decided not to hold the “age factor” against probable candidates. The party is also thinking of handing out poll responsibility to its office-bearers in a month so that the process could start early. Singh in his address to office-bearers on Sunday had predicted that the situation is favourable to the BJP and that the cadre should be ready to exploit the anti-Congress sentiment.</p>
