In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gadkari conveyed his heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reassigning him this role in Modi 3.0 and remarked that India will be equipped with world-class, modern infrastructure at an accelerated pace under Modi Ji`s visionary leadership

Gadkari, popularly referred to as the `Highway Man of India`, is credited with the construction of more than 54,858 km of national highways in the country in the last 10 years

The 67-year-old leader from Nagpur in Maharashtra has been the longest serving road transport & highways minister

Under his leadership, the road ministry aims to complete the construction of 1,386-km Delhi-Mumbai Express by December this year

The former BJP president -- closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh -- has won three consecutive times from the Nagpur seat, which houses the RSS headquarters

On Sunday, he was inducted into the NDA government as a cabinet minister

Gadkari`s foray into national politics happened in 2009, when he was appointed the BJP president

Since 2014, when Gadkari made his debut in the Lok Sabha polls from Nagpur and became a minister at the Centre, he has handled several portfolios like the micro, small and medium enterprises, shipping, water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, rural development and panchayati raj

He served as a member of the Maharashtra legislative council from the Nagpur Graduates` constituency from 1989 to 2014