BJP to field Varun Gandhi against Priyanka in Raebareli? Speculation heats up
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Speculation is rife that Varun Gandhi, who was denied a ticket by the BJP, may be fielded by the saffron party to contest from Raebareli, a traditional Gandhi bastion. The Congress is yet to decide on its candidate even as the party workers have been putting pressure on the central leadership to name Priyanka Gandhi for this prestigious seat. The Raebareli seat has been represented by some of the Congress stalwarts like Feroze Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Arun Nehru, and Sonia Gandhi. Sonia, who held the seat for two decades, recently took the Rajya Sabha route to enter Parliament. When asked whether he would contest from Raebareli, Varun Gandhi neither confirmed nor denied it. "It would not be appropriate for me to publicly discuss conversations that may have taken place with the assurance of confidentiality...In any case, I have always believed that elections should be about issues rather than personalities," he told The Indian Express. Varun Gandhi is the sitting MP from Pilibhit. This time, he was denied a ticket and replaced by Jitin Prasada. While there were no words from the leadership as to why he was denied the ticket, some believe that his critical remarks against the state government and some of the policies of the Centre may have upset the top brass. Last year, in an apparent dig at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Gandhi advised people not to "disrupt a nearby sadhu" as nobody knows "when 'maharaaj ji' will become the Chief Minister". In Septemeber 2023, he derided the Yogi government over the suspension of the licence of Amethi's Sanjay Gandhi Hospital after the death of a patient. He took to social media platform X and said "resentment against a naam (name) should not spoil the kaam (work) for people". The BJP has retained his mother Maneka Gandhi from Sultanapur. The Congress sources suggest that there is a strong possibility that Rahul Gandhi, who is contesting from Wayanad, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra could contest from Amethi and Raebareli, respectively, India Today reported on Thursday. Sources also said that Priyanka and Rahul are likely to visit Ayodhya and pray at Ram Mandir before they head to Amethi and Raebareli. In March, ThePrint reported that suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma was 'in the reckoning' for the Rae Bareli seat. According to that report, a senior party leader said Nupur's name had been suggested by a few state leaders, and it was under consideration. "But we have to look at many aspects and the final decision will be taken by the central leadership of the party," the leader was quoted as saying by ThePrint. Amethi and Raebareli will go to polls in the fifth phase on May 20. The nomination process will begin from April 26 and will remain open till May 3.