Gadkari denied the allegations that BJP has become “Modi-centric” in an interview to news agency PTI. He said that BJP neither became Atal or Advaniji's party in the past, nor it can ever be only Amit Shah or Narendra Modi's party.
Stressing "BJP is a party based on ideology," Gadkari said it is wrong to say that "BJP has become Modi-centric."
He, however, said the BJP and Prime Minister Modi are "complementary to each other."
On the lines of “Indira is India and India is Indira,” given by then Congress president D K Barooah during emergency in 1976, Gadkari was asked whether the BJP has become 'Modi is BJP and BJP is Modi'. He replied the party can never be "individual-centric”. It is an ideology-based party. There can be no 'family-rule' in the BJP. It is a wrong notion that the party has become Modi-centric. Party's parliamentary board takes all the decisions," he said.
He also dismissed the possibility of a fractured mandate and claimed the party will get more seats than the last Lok Sabha polls.
He also rubbished the claims that BJP is fighting polls on nationalism instead of its work or achievement in the past five years. He asserted that people will vote the party back to power with full majority supporting its development agenda. He said for the BJP, nationalism is not an issue but "our soul".
“In every election, discourse on the nation's security was there. We haven't made this an issue,” he told the news agency.
"Nationalism is our soul. Good adminstration and development is our mission... Roti, kapda and makan (food, clothes and shelter) for the poor, exploited and backward in the society is our ideal," he was quoted as saying.
Defending the Prime Minister for often mentioning about Pakistan and its army in his addresses, Gadkari said the media has raised some questions after Balakot strike which have to be answered.
"Recently, India has to give reply to Pakistan against its terror activities ... when these issues came ... It is natural that discussions on internal and external security issue will come into fore and hence we have not made nationalism an issue," PTI quoted him as saying.
(inputs from PTI)