Gadkari on way out?

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With senior BJP leaders Yashwant Sinha, Jaswant Singh and Shatrughan Sinha joining lawyer MP Ram Jethmalani in telling BJP party president Nitin Gadkari to quit following the recent exposures on his business lead, the party’s power struggle is out in the open.

Sources said a worried Gadkari met Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj, but was told that there is a limit up to which the party could walk with him. Sources also said that Sushma wanted the senior most and respected leader to take over the leadership of the BJP – a clear indication that Loh Purush L K Advani is emerging as a front-runner.

Earlier, Jethmalani, whose son Mahesh Jethmalani on Monday quit the Bharatiya Janata Party's national executive, said he was in touch with Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha on the issue and they were all of the same view.

"I hope they will also take the same step. We are unanimous in our views and I have no doubt about it. They have not expressed them publicly and I hope they will express soon," the Rajya Sabha MP said.

"We four are of clear view that a resignation of Gadkari is necessary," he said.

He said he fully backed his son Mahesh Jethmalani's decision after Gadkari compared Swami Vivekananda's IQ to that of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

"I fully approve of the action of my son after this Vivekananda episode. I think we don't need to be associated with the party which he (Gadkari) is leading... nothing against him personally," said Jethmalani.

"Moreover, philosophy of resigning corresponds to life of public servants who are government servants. If an inquiry is on against a public servant, usually he is suspended; and if cleared, he comes back with renewed honour and that is exactly how Gadkari should behave," he told reporters