‘You must learn from my mistakes’: Nitin Gadkari cautions Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule over caste-based cells

NAGPUR: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday warned his party's Maharashtra unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule about the pitfalls of starting caste-based cells within the party, saying all community leaders will rush to seek tickets for polls.Gadkari said to his party members, "BJP is our caste, and serving the nation is our priority."Speaking at the bhoomipuja of BJP's new Nagpur office, Gadkari turned to Bawankule on stage and said, "I have advised Bawankule that you must learn from my mistakes. By the time I realized my mistake it was too late." The mistake which Gadkari was talking about was starting cells within the party along caste lines, something which other big parties also do to connect with micro-level issues of different communities.Gadkari said, "I kept on starting caste cells. I was also advised against it, but I said that by doing this (caste-based cells), we will bring all communities together. So when Bawankule receives 50 letters from different communities seeking poll tickets, it will be a big problem." As Gadkari ended that sentence in a light-hearted manner, laughter erupted both on stage and in the audience, which included BJP workers who had come to attend the bhoomipuja of their new office.At this point, Bawankule too joined in the friendly banter saying the list is finalized from Delhi.Then Gadkari told the gathered party workers that they must work as one. "Our caste is BJP, and serving the nation is our priority. BJP is not a caste-based party, we are not a communal party. It's always nation-first for us," said Gadkari.