Akhilesh 'open' to giving Varun Gandhi SP ticket from Pilibhit if BJP doesn't renominate

Lucknow: Speculations suggest that BJP's sitting MP from the Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat, Varun Gandhi, might be denied renomination. Seeing an opportunity, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday dropped hints that his party would not be averse to fielding Varun on its ticket.

Speaking to reporters here, Akhilesh however remained evasive when queried if his party would field Varun from Pilibhit seat in case he wasn't renominated by the saffron party.

Akhilesh also hinted that former SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya, who had recently resigned from the SP, could be fielded from Kushinagar LS seat.

''The party will consider (giving ticket to Varun) if such a situation arises,'' he remarked in response to a query in this regard. SP has not so far declared its candidate from Pilibhit seat.

Though the BJP has declared its candidates for 51 seats in Uttar Pradesh in its first list, it is yet to announce its candidates from several important seats. These include Pilibhit, Sultanpur, Kaiserganj, Mainpuri and a few others.

The Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat is currently represented by Varun Gandhi while his mother and former union minister Maenka Gandhi is the sitting MP from Sultanpur LS seat.

State BJP sources here said that the saffron party might renominate Maneka Gandhi but there was very little chance of fielding Varun.

In fact two UP ministers were in contention for the seat. Sources said that Varun's continuous attacks on the NDA government at the centre as well as the state government had not gone down well with the BJP leadership.

There were also speculations in the political circles here that Varun might be fielded from the erstwhile Nehru-Gandhi family bastion of Amethi by the Congress in case the grand old party's former president Rahul Gandhi, who had lost to union minister Smriti Irani in the 2019 LS polls, opted out from the contest in Amethi and chose to contest from Wayanad LS seat in Kerala only.

Congress leadership was under tremendous pressure from the local party leaders and workers in Amethi that only a member of the Gandhi family should be given party nomination from Amethi.