 "Varun Gandhi")
BJP leaders Maneka Gandhi and Varun Gandhi, the mother and son who have contested from the Pilibhit constituency for nearly three decades, were absent when Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed his first public gathering in the Uttar Pradesh city on Tuesday.
Modi, in his speech, asked voters to support Jitin Prasada, Uttar Pradesh’s Public Works Minister and the BJP’s candidate in the Lok Sabha constituency.
According to a report in the 'Hindustan Times', leaders of the BJP's Pilibhit unit said that Maneka, the sitting MP from Sultanpur, and Varun, the MP from Pilibhit in the outgoing Parliament, were not included in the party’s list of star campaigners.
The two were not invited to participate in the event or to campaign for party candidates in the eight constituencies, including Pilibhit, scheduled for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 19.
Varun, who has represented the Pilibhit constituency for two terms in the Lok Sabha, was denied a ticket by the BJP. Instead, Jitin Prasada was nominated as the candidate for Pilibhit. Maneka is contesting from Sultanpur, a seat which she won in the 2019 election as a BJP leader.
Since 1996, the Pilibhit seat has been held by either Maneka or Varun. Varun won in 2009 and 2019 as the BJP candidate, winning by significant margins both times.
Earlier, reflecting on his connection with Pilibhit, Varun expressed his gratitude in a heartfelt letter to the constituents, emphasising that his bond with the constituency will continue lifelong.
In March, following Varun Gandhi's omission from the BJP's Lok Sabha ticket, the Congress extended an invitation to him to join their ranks. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had claimed that Varun Gandhi was denied a ticket due to his familial ties with the Gandhi family.
