Last Updated: March 26, 2024, 16:39 IST
BJP leader Varun Gandhi has been dropped from the Pilibhit seat. (File Image: PTI)
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said Varun Gandhi’s roots being in the ‘Gandhi family’ was the reason behind BJP dropping the 44-year-old leader from the poll fray
Congress has offered Varun Gandhi to join the party after BJP dropped the sitting MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit from its list of Lok Sabha candidates. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Tuesday said that Varun Gandhi is “most welcome” to join the grand old party.
The Congress leader further said Varun Gandhi’s roots being in the ‘Gandhi family’ was the reason behind BJP dropping the 44-year-old leader from the poll fray.
“He (Varun Gandhi) is a strong leader with a clean image, and he has a connection with the Gandhi family. This is why the BJP denied him (Lok Sabha poll) ticket. I think he should come (join Congress), we will be very happy,” Adhir Chowdhury said.
VIDEO | “He (Varun Gandhi) is a strong leader with a clean image, and he has a connection with the Gandhi family. This is why the BJP denied him (Lok Sabha poll) ticket. I think he should come (join Congress), we will be very happy,” says Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury… pic.twitter.com/UMlFhJMUbx— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 26, 2024
The BJP released its fifth list of Lok Sabha candidates on Sunday, March 24, and while it dropped Varun Gandhi, the party retained his mother Maneka Gandhi from the Sultanpur constituency.
Former Congress leader, Jitin Prasada, who jumped ship to BJP in 2021, has been fielded from Pilibhit – a seat held between Varun and his mother Maneka Gandhi since 1996.
Earlier this month, sources said that Varun Gandhi might contest the Lok Sabha polls as an independent if denied a ticket from BJP.
The BJP leader is, however, yet to make an official statement on the matter.
