News Brief

Lok Sabha Polls: Congress Opens Doors For Varun Gandhi After BJP Drops Him From Pilibhit

Kuldeep Negi

Mar 26, 2024, 03:52 PM | Updated 03:52 PM IST


Varun Gandhi
Varun Gandhi

After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dropped Varun Gandhi, the incumbent MP for Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, from its list of Lok Sabha candidates, the Congress has extended an invitation to him to join the party.

Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged that that Varun's connection to the Gandhi family contributed to the BJP's decision to omit him from the electoral contest.

"He (Varun Gandhi) should join Congress. We will be happy if he joins. He is a tall leader, and a well-educated politician. His image exudes transparency, and he has relations with the Gandhi family. This is the reason why the BJP did not give him a ticket. We want Varun Gandhi to join Congress now," Adhir Chowdhury said, India Today reported.

The BJP released its fifth list of Lok Sabha candidates on Sunday (24 March). The party dropped Varun Gandhi from the Pilibhit constituency, though his mother, Maneka Gandhi, retained her candidacy from Sultanpur.

Jitin Prasada, a former Congress leader who joined the BJP in 2021, has been nominated to contest from Pilibhit, replacing Varun Gandhi.

Varun Gandhi allegedly had a falling out with the BJP following his criticism of the Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh on multiple occasions.

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Kuldeep is Senior Editor (Newsroom) at Swarajya. He tweets at @kaydnegi.


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