Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed that Varun Gandhi was dropped from his Lok Sabha seat because of his relation to the Gandhi family.
Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged on Tuesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) denied Varun Gandhi a Lok Sabha ticket due to his association with the Gandhi family and adding to that he extended an invitation to Varun Gandhi, urging him to join the Congress party.
Chowdhury described Varun as a “dabang neta (strong leader)” and said he is a learned man with a clean image.
“He is a dabang neta and a very educated man. He has a clean image. Varun Gandhi has a connection with the Gandhi family. This is why the BJP denied him a ticket (for Lok Sabha polls). I think he should come (join the Congress), we will be very happy," Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress party in the outgoing Lok Sabha, said.
Varun, a two-term Lok Sabha MP from Pilibhit, has often aired views deemed critical of his party's governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh.
Varun Gandhi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi are cousins.
However, the BJP has renominated his mother Maneka Gandhi from Sultanpur.
Varun has been substituted with former Congress member Jitin Prasada to run for the Pilibhit seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.