After Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's ouster from the BJP's parliamentary board, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Clyde Crasto took a dig at the party saying he was removed due to his rising stature as an "astute politician".
"When your calibre and capabilities grow and you pose a challenge to the higher-ups the BJP downsizes you. The tainted get upgraded…," NCP spokesman Clyde Crasto said on Twitter.
Gadkari, an outspoken leader who enjoys good relations with leaders across the political spectrum, was dropped along with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from the BJP Parliamentary Board. "Nitin Gadkari ji not included in BJP's Parliamentary Board shows that his stature as an astute politician has grown leaps and bounds," Crasto said on Twitter.
The exclusion of the two leaders from the BJP's top decision-making body was seen as an indication of their diminishing political stock. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, perceived as Gadkari's rival, was included in the BJP Central Election Committee.
Last month, Gadkari said he sometimes felt like quitting politics as there is more to life. He also lamented that politics, nowadays, was more about staying in power than being a vehicle for social change.
The omission of Gadkari marks his diminishing stock within the party which has tried to make its key organisational bodies more socially and regionally representative by inducting members of different communities, including former cop and Punjab leader Lalpura, currently the chairman of the National Commission for Minorities.
Former Union ministers Jual Oram and Shahnawaz Hussain have been dropped from the CEC. After these changes, the board now has the full strength of 11 members while the CEC has 15 leaders.
The new entrants to the CEC are Rajasthan leader Om Mathur and BJP women wing chief Vanathi Srinivasan besides Fadnavis and Bhupender Yadav. Srinivasan replaces her predecessor Vijaya Rahatkar as the party's 'Mahila Morcha' chief as its an ex-officio member.
(With PTI Inputs)
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