BHOPAL: Putting to rest speculations about possibility of him joining Congress following denial of party ticket from Morena Lok Sabha seat, sitting BJP MP from Morena seat Anoop Mishra, who is also the nephew of ex-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said on Thursday that he’ll stay in the BJP only.
“No one in my family can even dream of quitting the party (BJP) and joining any other party. Politics of turncoat isn’t there in my blood, neither I’ll join another party, nor my family will allow me to quit BJP,” Mishra told The New Indian Express over phone from Indore.
The 62-year-old former two-time Madhya Pradesh minister, Mishra is the sitting MP from Morena seat of Gwalior-Chambal region. But the party denied him the ticket from Morena and instead fielded present Gwalior MP and union minister Narendra Singh Tomar from Morena.
Importantly, Mishra is still hopeful of getting party ticket from Gwalior, as the panel of names sent by state party leadership to central party includes his name as one of the probables from the seat, which was won by his uncle Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1971.
Mishra, who lost the last two assembly elections (2013, 2018) from Bhitarwar seat of Gwalior district, said he was optimistic about his possible candidature from Gwalior. “I haven’t sought ticket for self in any elections, but have always sought ticket from others and 90% times my recommendations for other candidates have been accepted by party’s top brass. I’m hopeful that party will consider me from Gwalior seat. In all possibilities, I’ll be in the party,” said Mishra.
While Mishra has made it clear that he will not quit BJP in any situation, another former BJP MP (five-time MP from Morena and Bhind seats and present Morena mayor) Ashok Argal is believed to have met Congress national general secretary for West UP Jyotiraditya Scindia in Delhi to discuss possibility of him joining Congress after being denied ticket by BJP from Bhind seat.