Party projects the Pilibhit MP as its youth mascot ahead of Lok Sabha elections.
Varun Gandhi will be the BJP’s answer to Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh. The point was firmly driven home by none else but BJP president Rajnath Singh at a well-attended rally in Bareilly in west UP on Wednesday. The rally marks the first of a string of such rallies to be held throughout the state to establish Varun as the BJP’s youth face in UP in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
“We will have to take care of every BJP worker in the country, we will help them in every district across the country,” Varun said. His speech focused on the youth and farmers. He criticized the Akhilesh Yadav regime for distributing freebies. “The UP government has started a fleet of ambulances. But has any ambulance gone to the house of a poor person? They are distributing free laptops, what difference will that make?” he said, adding that the government should work on skill development aimed at making the youth capable of earning their due.
The 33-year-old BJP MP from Pilibhit also criticized the Centre saying the much-touted farmers’ loan waiver scheme, as per the CAG report, had benefited only 20 per cent of the farmers.
Over the next few months, the BJP plans to use Varun as a youth mascot. Sources in the party say he would contest from Sultanpur which is close to his aunt Sonia Gandhi’s Rae Bareli and cousin Rahul Gandhi’s Amethi. Varun will address a rally at Sultanpur on May 16 along with former BJP president Nitin Gadkari.
The BJP chief, while extolling Varun, said: “I believe that the youth have to be given the reins of the party. I wanted him to get more responsibility earlier, but he was very young.”
Rajnath recently elevated Varun to the rank of national general secretary. Party insiders say Varun suits Rajnath’s gameplan of using a strident Hindutva line in the Lok Sabha election campaign.
Varun was recently acquitted by a UP court of charges of delivering hate speeches targeting the minorities during his campaign in the last parliamentary election when he won the Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat, previously represented by his mother Maneka Gandhi.
The BJP leadership is also encouraged by Varun’s recent success. In the state assembly elections last year, all 14 candidates for whom he campaigned were elected.
Party sources say Varun will soon be involved in the BJP’s programmes in the state. Along with Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Varun will also attend a meeting to shortlist candidates for the Lok Sabha election.
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