32 Facts About Nitin Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari is known for his work as the Public Works Department Minister of the State of Maharashtra, where, under his leadership, a series of roads, highways and flyovers across the state were constructed.

Nitin Gadkari currently represents the Nagpur constituency in the Lok Sabha, and is a lawyer by occupation.

Nitin Gadkari was born into a Marathi family in Nagpur, India to Jairam Gadkari and Bhanutai Gadkari on 27 May 1957.

Nitin Gadkari served as the Minister of Public Works Department of the Government of Maharashtra from 1995 to 1999 and restructured it from top to bottom.

Nitin Gadkari has served as the president of the Maharashtra state unit of BJP.

Nitin Gadkari strongly supported privatisation while he campaigned for investments in infrastructure from private firms.

Nitin Gadkari addressed several meetings between private investors, contractors, builders and various trade organisations and diverted large amounts of budgeted projects towards privatisation.

In 1990, the Government of Maharashtra conducted feasibility studies for the new expressway to be operated on a toll basis it was only after Nitin Gadkari took over as PWD Minister that the construction of this project was fast-tracked.

Nitin Gadkari entrusted the work of the construction of Mumbai-Pune expressway to MSRDC in March 1997 on Build-Operate-Transfer basis with permission to collect toll for 30 years.

Nitin Gadkari was appointed the president of the BJP in December 2009.

Nitin Gadkari contested 2014 Lok Sabha election successfully from Nagpur constituency and won.

Nitin Gadkari defeated Congress party candidate Vilas Muttemwar by margin of 285,000.

Nitin Gadkari retained his seat in 2019, defeating Nana Patole of Congress party by 216,000 margin.

Nitin Gadkari became the Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Minister of Shipping in May 2014.

Nitin Gadkari reserved an amount of one per cent of the total projects awarded in his tenure worth 2 trillion for trees and beautification.

In line with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat green fuel adoption and fuel self sufficiency Nitin Gadkari drove to the parliament in a hydrogen powered FCEV Toyota Mirai car.

Nitin Gadkari asked people to opt for green fuel vehicles.

Nitin Gadkari, who was virtually present at the inauguration of the headquarters of the National Highways Authority of India on 28 October 2020, made a speech that was highly critical of the NHAI officials and bureaucracy.

Nitin Gadkari has registered himself as an agriculturist for tax purposes.

Nitin Gadkari started a fruit export company under the banner of "Ketaki overseas Trading Company".

Nitin Gadkari owns a total of 17 sugar plantations in Vidarbha under the banner of the Purti group.

Nitin Gadkari floated the Purti Power and Sugar Ltd in 1995, when he started as PWD minister in Maharashtra.

However, Kejriwal apologised unconditionally after Nitin Gadkari filed a defamation case against him.

When questioned on Marathi channel IBN-Lokmat, about why he did not avail a loan from banks, Nitin Gadkari explained that the balance sheets of the company were not in a suitable state, so he had requested his friend Dattatray to help him out.

Nitin Gadkari argued that there was nothing wrong in having contractors invest in one's firms.

The news of these allegations broke a few months before Nitin Gadkari was to seek re-election as president of the BJP.

At the time, Nitin Gadkari was to address several rallies for the 2012 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election.

In early 2013, in the elections for BJP president, for which Nitin Gadkari was "close to clinching a second innings" his chances unravelled with several senior leaders suggesting that the I-T indictment of the Purti groups investments had damaged his image, and Nitin Gadkari was not re-elected.

Nitin Gadkari told the Times of India that he was stepping down until the inquiry proved him innocent.

Nitin Gadkari is married to Kanchan Gadkari and they have three children, Nikhil, Sarang and Ketki.

In 2009, seven-year-old Yogita Thakre was found dead with bruises all over her body in a car allegedly owned by Nitin Gadkari and parked near his home.

Mr Nitin Gadkari's employees claimed that the girl accidentally locked herself in the boot of the car and died of suffocation.