BJP leaders Varun Gandhi and his mother Maneka Gandhi did not attend the rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, despite the two holding the Lok Sabha seat interchangeably since 1996.
The BJP denied ticket to sitting Lok Sabha member from the seat Varun Gandhi and fielded Jitin Prasad, who is the Public Works Minister in the U.P. government.
Mr. Gandhi has been vocal against his own government several times on issues such as inflation, unemployment, and farmers’ woes.
On March 28, Mr. Gandhi penned an emotional note to voters in Pilibhit, emphasising his old bonds with them, but giving no hint as to his political future.
Ms. Maneka Gandhi had won the seat on a Janata Dal ticket in 1989, then lost it in 1991, before winning it again in 1996. She won from the constituency in 1998 and 1999 as an independent candidate. She won the seat again in 2004 and 2014, this time as a BJP candidate. Mr. Varun Gandhi then won the seat in 2009 and 2019 as a BJP candidate.
For the 2024 election, the BJP is fielding Ms. Gandhi from Sultanpur. “I am the BJP candidate from Sultanpur again, for this I am grateful to the party president and the prime minister and all the MLAs. I am very happy that I have come to Sultanpur again,” Ms. Gandhi said, addressing questions of delay in announcement of her candidature.
