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At BJP meet, PM Modi takes onus of denying tickets to children of party leaders
Speaking about the recently-held assembly elections in five states, the Prime Minister said that the message should go to people that ‘family politics is not leading the country anywhere.’
Addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly took the onus of denying tickets to children of party leaders in the recently-held assembly elections in five states.
“Several MPs and party leaders were seeking tickets for their children and many of them were denied. For those who did not get tickets for their children, the responsibility lies with me,” PM Modi said, reported news agency ANI, citing people familiar with the development.
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The meeting also saw the Prime Minister speak on the ‘ills’ of dynastic politics. “The message needs to go to people that family politics is not leading the country anywhere. The BJP is fighting dynastic politics, and it is important that we lead by example,” he remarked.
PM Modi further said that dynastic politics ‘leads to casteism.’
According to reports, PM Modi, in his address, did not mention anyone. However, in the past, he has frequently targeted the Congress, which is headed by Sonia Gandhi, whose son, Rahul, is a former party president, while daughter, Priyanka, holds the post of general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh.
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Also, during his election rallies in Uttar Pradesh--one of the four states which went to polls--the Prime Minister repeatedly targeted former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who heads the Samajwadi Party (SP), and is the son of Mulayam Singh Yadav, himself a former CM of the country’s most populous state.
However, while the BJP denied ticket to children of several party members, many others, including Pankaj Singh, the son of defence minister Rajnath Singh, contested the polls. Pankaj Singh, the sitting MLA from UP’s Noida assembly constituency, won the seat for a second straight time.
Overall, of the five states, the BJP retained four--UP, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. Punjab, meanwhile, voted for a new government, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) pushing the Congress out of power.
