LUCKNOW: Former Union Minister and BJP MP Maneka Gandhi expressed happiness at being nominated again as the BJP candidate from Sultanpur, but remained non-committal on her son Varun Gandhi's political future.
After reaching Sultanpur, Maneka said: "I am the BJP candidate from Sultanpur again, for this I am grateful to the party president and the prime minister and all the MLAs. I am very happy that I have come to Sultanpur again." She was interacting with media persons on reaching her constituency for the first time on Monday after her name was cleared by the BJP. Maneka had won the seat in 2019. Before that her son and former BJP MP Varun Gandhi had won from the same constituency in 2014.
"It was already decided that I would contest the election but deciding from which constituency is what caused the delay," she said.
Avoiding a direct reply over the denial of a ticket to her son Varun Gandhi and his future course of action, Maneka asked media persons to direct the query to Varun himself. However, she added that it was too early to comment on it. “Let’s wait for some time. I shall think about it after the elections,” said Maneka.
Asked whether Varun would campaign for her, she said that he and his wife were at present battling viral fever and were taking rest.
“Moreover, Varun’s mother-in-law has suffered a heart attack, so he is busy there. I and my party will take care of my elections this time,” said Maneka.
Asked if Varun would contest on a Congress ticket from Amethi or Rae Bareli, she said, "I am in the BJP and not a leader of any other party who can give you information about it."
Talking about her priorities for Sultanpur, Maneka said that this time she would complete all those endeavours which could not be completed in her last tenure. When asked about her rival Bhim Nishad, the SP candidate, the BJP MP said that last time the SP candidate had contested the poll under the shadow of crime but this time the SP candidate seemed to be a good person. She added that she was not in the habit of commenting on others. “If people will like me, they will vote for me,” she said.
