NEW DELHI: Over a week after the BJP denied ticket for the Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat, Varun Gandhi penned an emotional letter to the constituents on Thursday, pledging his ongoing commitment to serve them.
Varun, the son of former Union Minister and BJP MP Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, broke his silence after the BJP excluded the incumbent MP from Pilibhit from its list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
In a letter shared via his 'X' handle, an emotional Varun wrote: "Even though I am not able to contest elections from here, I will continue to serve the people of Pilibhit."
Recounting his association with the constituency, he said, "Today, when I am writing this letter, countless memories have made me emotional. I remember that little three-year-old child who came to Pilibhit for the first time in 1983 holding the fingers of his mother. Little did he know that one day this land would become his work place and the people here would become his family."
"I consider myself fortunate that I got the opportunity to serve the great people of Pilibhit for years. Not only as an MP, but also as a person, the ideals, simplicity and kindness I got from Pilibhit have contributed greatly to my upbringing and development," the BJP MP wrote.
Further, Varun Gandhi said his tenure as an MP may be coming to an end, but his relationship with Pilibhit can't end till his last breath.
"I have always raised my voice for your interests with all my might and best. My term as an MP may be ending, but my relationship with Pilibhit can't end till my last breath," he wrote.
"If not as an MP, then at least as a son, I am committed to serving you throughout my life and my doors will always remain open for you as before. I came into politics to raise the voice of the common man and today I seek your blessings to continue doing this work. Even if I have to pay any cost for this," he added.
The denial of ticket to Varun Gandhi this time did not come as a surprise, as he has been criticising the BJP on the issues of farmers, health and jobs.
Speculations were rife about Varun planning to quit the BJP and join the Samajwadi Party or Congress. He is expected to campaign for his mother, Maneka, who has been retained by the BJP to contest from Sultanpur.
This is the first time in over three decades that the mother-son duo of Maneka and Varun Gandhi will not be in the fray from the Pilibhit constituency, which is located in the Terai belt bordering Nepal.
The Pilibhit seat has remained with Maneka Gandhi or her son Varun Gandhi since 1996.
Maneka Gandhi won the seat on a Janata Dal ticket in 1989, lost in 1991 and won again in 1996. She won the constituency in 1998 and 1999 as an independent candidate.
She won the seat in 2004 and 2014 as a BJP candidate.
Varun Gandhi won the seat in 2009 and 2019 as a BJP candidate.
(With additional inputs from PTI)