BJP circles want to know Nitin Gadkari ko gussa kyon aata hai. The union transport minister has confounded friends and foes alike with his strange behavior. For instance, just recently, he was shown on a Marathi channel guffawing about the BJP’s “jumlas” in the 2014 campaign.

He said the party was advised to make “tall promises” before the 2014 election because it never dreamt it would win. “Now that we are in power, the public reminds us of those promises. These days, we just laugh and move on,” he declared and then cackled with laughter.

Gadkari tweeted some confusing explanation of the comments saying they were related to the assembly election in Maharashtra, which also happened in 2014, not the Lok Sabha poll. But few in the BJP are convinced. In fact, Modi loyalists in the BJP are hopping mad. Coming on the eve of assembly elections which are being seen as the semi-final of the 2019 Lok Sabha battle, Gadkari’s remarks may have caused irreparable damage to the party’s image and Modi’s reputation.

But the transport minister seems to be in a strange mood. Before the controversial interview, he went missing from public view. His absence was noticeable because he didn’t turn up for a single event around the death of former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. He did not attend the cremation nor the homage that was arranged at the party headquarters before Vajpayee’s final journey. Some say he didn’t even visit the late prime minister while he was in hospital.

A section in the BJP believes that Gadkari is sulking after the recent Pune meet of the RSS. Apparently, it was decided at this meet that the RSS would fully back Modi in 2019 and work to help him win a second term. This section says that Gadkari is hoping that the RSS would choose him as a consensus candidate for PM in case the BJP falls short of a majority and has to form a coalition government.

But with the wholehearted backing to Modi, the RSS seems to have poured cold water on Gadkari’s dreams, say BJP sources.

Second thoughts on Akbar

It is now clear that the government had second thoughts about asking #metoo hit M J Akbar to step down after the damaging sexual harassment allegations swirling around him. That is why Akbar was asked to finish his tour of Africa instead of cutting it short and rushing back as was first reported.

It seems Akbar is brazening it out with the full backing of the Modi-Shah duo. In fact, Shah let the cat out of the bag when he commented that the allegations against Akbar have to be proved first. He said this despite statements from as many as three women ministers of the BJP expressing support for the #metoo campaign.

The government is believed to have changed its mind after the Congress mounted pressure for Akbar’s ouster. There was no way Modi and Shah were going to allow Rahul Gandhi a victory of sorts and give him an opportunity to crow. Never mind that Akbar’s continuance and his defiance are hurting the government’s image as the controversy gets muddier.

Meanwhile, the BJP’s dirty tricks department is weighing the pros and cons of turning the focus of the #metoo campaign on the Congress which has several skeletons in its cupboard from its UPA days. It looks like more muck will fly in all directions as the BJP and Congress slug it out before the elections.

Tragically, the main issue, which is the widespread harassment and exploitation of women in the workplace, will be forgotten in the political fight.

Saffron fold

One person who must be squirming as the #metoo campaign gains momentum is BJP general secretary Ram Madhav. Not because there are allegations against him but because he is credited with introducing M J Akbar to the saffron fold. The route was India Foundation which Ram Madhav started and which became a major recruiting ground for the BJP and the government when Modi assumed office in 2014.

Ram Madhav headhunted Akbar for the Foundation. After all, the former journalist has written several highly regarded books on a variety of subjects including Pakistan, Kashmir, Islam etc.

He was finally inducted into the union council of ministers in the last reshuffle because the government needed an interlocutor to repair relations with the Islamic world. Akbar was considered the best person for the job.

Interestingly, Madhav is also being credited with mentoring a journalist who became a victim of the #metoo campaign and had to step down from his position of authority in a national daily.

Within the BJP, questions are being asked whether an explanation will be sought from Ram Madhav about his connections which have now turned out to be controversial.

But it would be unfair to point a finger at Ram Madhav alone. When a person is shortlisted for a ministerial post, the government is supposed to do due diligence on his or her background and career. The task is entrusted to the IB which is mandated to do a full scale enquiry. Surely reports about Akbar’s reputation must have been given to the government. So where does the buck stop?

Experiment fails?

The RSS experiment of uniting Hindu society seems to be coming apart in Gujarat. Ever since Modi left Gandhinagar to shift to Delhi, the state has seen caste turn on caste, Gujaratis turn on non-Gujaratis, Hindus turn on Hindus.

Interestingly, each time, the same areas have been hit by violence: Mehsana, Patan, Surat and Sabarkantha. These are also the areas that were the worst affected during the 2002 communal violence. Much to the consternation of the RSS, the Hindutva experiment tried out in 2002 seems to be unraveling.