Uncertainty continues over the candidature of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of parliament (MP) Varun Gandhi from the Pilibhit seat in Uttar Pradesh, which he represents.
Pilibhit, along with seven other seats in Uttar Pradesh, will go to the polls on April 19 in the first phase of the Lok Sabha 2024 elections, for which the filing of nominations started on March 20.
For quite some time now, speculation has been rife that Varun may not be fielded by the BJP in 2024 because he attacked some of his party’s policies over the past few years. Some reports suggested that he would contest the elections either as an independent or a Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate.
However, the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP announced Bhagwat Sharan Gangwar as the party’s candidate from Pilibhit on March 20. The SP had earlier hinted at fielding Varun Gandhi from Pilibhit if the BJP denied him a ticket.
The BJP has so far announced the names for 51 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh. The delay in releasing names for the remaining 29 seats, including Pilibhit, has added to speculation.
Also Read: Lok Sabha Polls 2024: No, says BJP MP Varun Gandhi in response to reports of contesting from Amethi
Amid the buzz, Varun Gandhi’s aide MR Malik, purchased four sets of nomination papers for the forthcoming Lok Sabha 2024 polls on March 20, the day when the filing of nominations for eight Lok Sabha seats from UP, including Pilibhit, started.
News agency PTI quoted Malik as saying, “Varun Gandhi will be the BJP candidate from Pilibhit.”
The 43-year-old Pilibhit MP has been critical against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the centre and Yogi Adityanath-led state government in Uttar Pradesh on many issues. However, since December last year, Varun has not made any statement that could be seen as critical of either government.
In February, however, Varun retweeted PM Modi on the government’s decision to confer Bharat Ratna on former Prime Ministers Chaudhary Charan Singh and PV Narasimha Rao and architect of Green Revolution, MS Swaminathan. He also thanked PM Modi for the development undertaken in his parliamentary constituency.
Varun won the Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat twice in 2009 and 2019. In 2014, he won the Sultanpur Lok Sabha seat, which was later won by his mother, Maneka Gandhi, in 2019.
Sources suggested that the BJP might field state PWD minister Jitin Prasad or Minister of State, Sugarcane Development and Sugar Mills Sanjay Singh Gangwar from Pilibhit. “However, the BJP would not want to risk this, considering the popularity of Varun in the seat and the fact that he won the last election by over 2 lakh votes,” said a BJP leader who did not want to be named.
Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Why Raj Thackeray is important for BJP in Maharashtra. 5 Points
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP have set a target of 370 seats across the country for the 2024 elections. Union Minister Amit Shah has predicted that the party would win 74 of the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh. In 2019, the party won 62 seats; in 2014, it won 71 seats from Uttar Pradesh.
The seven-phase Lok Sabha Elections 2024 begin on April 19. The results will be declared on June 4. The last date for filing nominations in the eight Lok Sabha seats, including Pilibhit, is March 27. Nominations can be withdrawn before March 30.
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Published: 21 Mar 2024, 09:41 AM IST