New Delhi: He was among the few Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs who came out in support of protesting farmers, demanded action against party colleague Ajay Misra Teni in the aftermath of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident and criticised policies of his own party’s government including on burning issues like unemployment and economy, among others.
But 2024 seems to have ‘softened’ Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi.
The 43-year-old, a vocal critic of the policies of the Modi government at the Centre and the Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh, last week thanked Modi for the developmental work undertaken in his parliamentary constituency.
Since December last year, Gandhi has refrained from making any statement that might be seen as ‘critical’ of the BJP government in the state or at the Centre.
This was preceded by him showering praise on his grandmother Indira Gandhi, calling the former prime minister a “true leader” who did not take “sole credit” for victory — a reference to the 1971 War that culminated in the liberation of Bangladesh.
PM Smt Indira Gandhi’s letter to the then Army Chief General Sam Manekshaw, after the historic victory in the 1971 War.
A true leader knows that it is the entire team that wins, and knows when to be large-hearted and not take sole credit.
On this day all of India salutes both… pic.twitter.com/AJf3srSrJv
— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) December 22, 2023
However, by February this year, Varun Gandhi was seen reaffirming his support for the BJP and Modi, even commending the government for its recommendation to the President to confer the Bharat Ratna on former prime ministers Chaudhary Charan Singh and P.V. Narasimha Rao as well as agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan.
“These past few years, he (Varun) has been highly critical of the Yogi and Modi governments but suddenly this year he has toned down (the criticism) and reposted PM Modi’s tweet about winning the 2024 elections and also thanking him for carrying out developmental work in his constituency. All this has not gone unnoticed,” said a senior central BJP leader who did not wish to be named.
On 26 February, Prime Minister Modi virtually launched the ‘Amrit Bharat Station Scheme’ under which the central government will redevelop 554 railway stations including in Meerut, Bulandshahr, and Pilibhit — which fall under the ambit of North Eastern Railway (NER).
Gandhi took to X and thanked Modi for laying the foundation stone for the new railway station in Pilibhit. Gandhi attended the event in person, while Modi addressed it virtually.
“Honourable, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji today laid the foundation stone under the scheme of ‘Amrit Bharat Station’ and 2 RUB (level crossing number 161 and 162) in my Lok Sabha constituency through video conferencing. I and my Pilibhit family express gratitude to the Prime Minister,” Gandhi wrote in a post on X.
मा. प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी द्वारा वीडियो कॉन्फ्रेंसिंग के माध्यम से आज अपने लोकसभा क्षेत्र पीलीभीत में ‘अमृत भारत स्टेशन’ योजना के अन्तर्गत अमृत स्टेशन व 2 आर.यू.बी. (समपार संख्या 161 व 162) का शिलान्यास किया।
मैं और पीलीभीत का मेरा परिवार मा. प्रधानमंत्री जी का आभार… pic.twitter.com/jVpYmiBHfJ
— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) February 26, 2024
According to a senior BJP functionary from Uttar Pradesh, many were surprised at the fact that Gandhi shared the stage with local party leaders at the event.
“Despite being a BJP MP for the last four years, Varun Gandhi and district BJP president Sanjeev Pratap Singh were hardly seen together on the same stage. This coming together indicates a lot ahead of the Lok Sabha elections,” said the functionary.
The programme, said a BJP functionary from Pilibhit, was organised by the local unit and an invite was extended to Gandhi who represents the constituency, as has been the practice.
“We were quite surprised when we saw him at the venue. In the past he has not attended such programmes of the state unit though at his own level he used to interact with the people from his constituency. Not only did he attend but he shared the stage with the functionaries too. He also praised PM Modi, something which he had not done for quite some time,” the local functionary told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
“We give respect to our leaders and he is a BJP MP so we treated him in the same manner. We are witnessing a change in him but what all of this means and what it will translate into is something the central leadership would know,” added the functionary.
The BJP, which Saturday declared its first list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, is yet to announce its candidate from the Pilibhit seat. Many in the party had indicated that Varun Gandhi was unlikely to be fielded a fourth time from the seat.
Varun and mother Maneka Gandhi, a former Union minister, joined the BJP in 2004.
In 2009, Varun contested his first Lok Sabha election from Pilibhit and has retained the seat since. In 2013, he was appointed national general secretary of the party.
By 2021, Varun Gandhi had come out in support of farmers demanding a withdrawal of the three farm laws. Many had at the time termed his outburst a reaction to his non-inclusion in the Union Cabinet, which was expanded in July 2021.
Interesting to note though is that his endorsement of the farmers’ agitation came months before the crucial assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, where the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government was hoping for a second term.
In October that year, both Varun and Maneka were dropped from the national executive — the party’s top decision-making body — following his calls for justice in the Lakhimpur Kheri case, in particular, action against Union Minister Ajay Misra Teni whose son Ashish is among those accused of running over a group of protesting farmers with their car.
However, party sources said unlike ‘others’, Gandhi has always refrained from making any personal comments against Modi or Yogi Adityanath.
“He has an academic bent of mind and holds independent views on economic issues. He has never made any personal comments against PM or any senior party leaders and even on ideological terrain he has followed the party line,” maintained one central BJP leader.
A close-aide of Varun Gandhi said he has been winning from Pilibhit since 2009 and the BJP, which goes by ‘winnability’, is aware of that. “A few months back after media reports suggested that Gandhi was unlikely to contest, some BJP leaders met the central leadership and suggested someone else contesting from the seat to which the leadership asked whether they could beat him? And this alone shut them up,” said the aide.
For now, a UP BJP functionary said another issue that remains to be resolved is whether both Varun and mother Maneka — the BJP MP from Sultanpur — will be fielded this time around, given the BJP’s self-imposed ‘one family, one ticket’ rule.
“Both Varun and Maneka ji have not lost a single election. In 2024, when the party wants to better its tally, it will be significant to see who it will field,” the functionary told ThePrint.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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