Nitin Gadkari Retains Transport and Highways Ministry, Also Gets MSME in Modi Govt 2.0

New Delhi: Considered the most successful minister in Narendra Modi’s first government, Nitin Gadkari will continue to handle the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. He will also be handling the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

Gadkari had been credited for smooth construction and operation of bridges, flyovers and expressways in the previous cabinet. He was also known to have played a significant role in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.

Gadkari won the recent general elections in the Nagpur seat by defeating his closest opponent, Congress candidate and BJP rebel Nana Patole by a margin of more than 2 lakh votes.

Nagpur holds significance for Gadkari as it is the home ground of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Gadkari garnered over 50 per cent votes in the urban seat.POLITICAL JOURNEY

Gadkari joined politics as a student activist for the Akhil Bharatiya Vidya Parishad (ABVP) in 1976. He went on to become the president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha when he was just 24 years old and also became the secretary of the BJP in Nagpur city.

His victory in 1992 in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation established his political career as a member of the BJP. He later joined the Maharashtra cabinet as the Minister for Public Works. At the age of 42, he became the Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council.