By – Prakarsh kastwar
Varun Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi’s son, was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 2009 from Pilibhit.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Congress leader in Lok Sabha, urged Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Varun Gandhi to join the grand old party on Tuesday, after the latter was refused a Lok Sabha ticket for his Pilibhit constituency.
“He (Varun Gandhi) is a powerful leader with a clean image, and he is associated with the Gandhi family. This is why the BJP denied him a Lok Sabha election ticket. “I think he should come (join Congress), and we will be very happy,” the Congress leader.
Varun Gandhi was replaced as Lok Sabha candidate from Pilibhit by Uttar Pradesh minister Jitin Prasada, who is presently representing the constituency. His mother, Maneka, has been fielded from Sultanpur once more by the BJP.
Prasada, who served as a minister twice in the Manmohan Singh-led Congress government and was regarded as one of Rahul Gandhi’s closest allies, lost two Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019. He joined the BJP two years ago and was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council in 2021.
Gandhi, 44, has criticised his own government at the Centre over a number of issues. Even as speculation over his ticket mounted, the Samajwadi Party sent out feelers, with Akhilesh Yadav implying that the party’s doors were open to him.
“We welcome everyone with open arms,” the president of SP had declared.
Varun Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi’s son, was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 2009 from Pilibhit. In 2014, he ran in the general election from Sultanpur, while his mother, Maneka, ran from Pilibhit.
Last year, Rahul Gandhi was asked if his cousin Varun will return to the Congress, to which the former party president responded that their ideas do not align.
“He (Varun Gandhi) at some point, perhaps even today, accepted and adopted that ideology. I can never accept that. I can meet him and hug him, but I can’t accept his ideas. “Impossible,” Rahul Gandhi stated.