The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Sultanpur, Varun Gandhi, may contest from Pilibhit, the Lok Sabha constituency of his mother and Union minister Maneka Gandhi, who has sought a ticket from Haryana’s Karnal, a person close to the family said.
According to BJP leaders, if the party high command accepts Maneka Gandhi’s request, it would help silence the buzz about Varun Gandhi shifting to the Congress, something the BJP leadership is aware of and would like to address.
“It’s true that the BJP high command has been asked to consider Karnal for Maneka ji and Pilibhit for Varun,” said the person.
Varun Gandhi made his electoral debut from Pilibhit in 2009 when Maneka Gandhi, currently the Union minister for women and child development, shifted to the nearby Aonla seat to accommodate him. Varun won the seat by nearly four lakh votes.
In 2014, Maneka Gandhi again shifted to Pilibhit while Varun was fielded from Sultanpur which he won by nearly 1.78 lakh votes.
Athar Siddiqui from the Centre of Objective Research and Development (CORD) said, “I guess that the SP-BSP-RLD tie up in UP is also going to influence seat adjustments to a great extent. .. The BJP is yet to make its decision official but I guess not just them but several other leaders in BJP could contest from different seats.”
{{/usCountry}}Athar Siddiqui from the Centre of Objective Research and Development (CORD) said, “I guess that the SP-BSP-RLD tie up in UP is also going to influence seat adjustments to a great extent. .. The BJP is yet to make its decision official but I guess not just them but several other leaders in BJP could contest from different seats.”
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