After Uddhav Thackeray's "If Insulted" Call, Nitin Gadkari In BJP's 2nd List
NDTV
Ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had 'invited' Nitin Gadkari to quit the BJP and join his Shiv Sena faction after the Union Minister was not named in his party's first list.
Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has been named in the party's second list of candidates for the forthcoming general election. Mr Gadkari, 66, who hails from Maharashtra, will defend the state's Nagpur seat that he has held since the 2014 poll.
That Mr Gadkari - a veteran member of the Narendra Modi government over the past decade, and former President of the Bharatiya Janata Party - had not been named in the party's first list raised eyebrows, particularly since the BJP is swift when it comes to dropping big names to avoid anti-incumbency.
Mr Gadkari's omission from that list - which named 195 candidates - was pounced upon by former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who invited the Road Transport and Highways Minister to join the state's Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance.
