Gandhi vs Gandhi in Lok Sabha soon?

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi may soon face a challenger from his family in the LS in his first cousin Varun Gandhi.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi may soon face a challenger from his family in the Lok Sabha if his first cousin Varun Gandhi succeeds in entering Parliament.

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Varun is a frontrunner for the BJP nomination from Vidisha, a saffron stronghold once represented by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee where a bye-election is scheduled on October 30.

While Rahul, the MP from Amethi, is known for a certain enigma, Varun's oratorial skills have been appreciated and many BJP veterans are backing him for the nomination.

Despite being projected as the darling of the youth, Rahul has spoken only twice in the House with almost half his term over. He has not been entrusted any responsibility either in the party or the government despite fervent appeals to his mother and Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

The "heir apparent" of the first family of Congress has virtually preferred to be a backbencher, keenly observing how the game of Parliamentary politics is played.

Rahul's main plus point is that he has managed well the Rae Bareli bye-election with Sonia Gandhi winning by a record margin. But, he has not campaigned in any Assembly polls so far and has almost confined himself to Uttar Pradesh.

A formal decision on Varun's candidature is expected this week but if the talk in the BJP is to be believed, then it will be a miracle if the son of former Union minister and party MP Maneka Gandhi fails to make it.

Incidently, there is no love lost between Maneka and Sonia. A recent debate in the Lok Sabha on the Volcker issue saw Maneka targeting her sister-in-law in a not so friendly way.