New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh minister Jitin Prasada, who was fielded from Pilibhit Lok Sabha constituency in place of sitting MP Varun Gandhi, is leading by 1.01 lakh votes over his closest rival, Samajwadi Party’s Bhagwat Saran Gangwar.
The results of this seat are crucial to the “other” branch of the Gandhi family — Maneka Gandhi and her son Varun. The BJP denied a ticket to sitting MP Varun Gandhi to field Jitin Prasada from here after the latter’s not-so-veiled criticism of the Modi government’s policies, especially concerning farmers’ agitations.
Varun, who had won the last election by a margin of over 2.56 lakh votes, stayed away from the party’s campaign in Pilibhit this time.
If the party manages to win Pilibhit without Varun campaigning, it would undermine young Gandhi’s political standing.
Jitin Prasada, public works department minister in the Yogi Adityanath government, is a two-term MP, having won from Shahjahanpur in 2004 and Dhaurara in 2009. He was a minister in Manmohan Singh-led government.
Prasada was pitted against Anis Ahmed Khan of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party fielded Bhagwat Saran Gangwar, a five-time MLA from Nawabganj in Bareilly from Pilibhit. The SP also got the support of the Congress as part of the opposition alliance.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) had fielded Gangwar, from Bareilly against BJP’s Santosh Kumar Gangwar who won the seat in 2019.
For the first time since 1989 when Varun Gandhi’s mother Maneka Gandhi won the Lok Sabha polls in Pilibhit as a Janata Dal candidate, a Gandhi family member did not contest from this constituency this time round.
Maneka lost the 1991 election from here but after that, she and Varun have won seven consecutive elections from Pilibhit.
Prasada’s candidature had come as a surprise for many and to ensure a win for him for the first time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also addressed a rally in Pilibhit to drum up support for him apart from extensive campaigning by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Uttar Pradesh PWD minister Jitin Prasada is the son of veteran Congress leader Late Jitendra Prasada. Jitin Prasada quit the Congress three years ago and joined the BJP. Prasada’s grandfather, Jyoti Prasad, was associated with the Congress and served in legislative and local body positions.
After being denied a ticket, Varun Gandhi penned an emotional letter to his constituents asserting that his bond with them will continue.