Is it all over for sitting Delhi MPs Meenakshi Lekhi, Parvesh Verma, Ramesh Bidhuri

Vibha Sharma

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Chandigarh, March 4

The ruling BJP on Saturday declared the first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, fielding Prime Minister Narendra Modi from his constituency Varanasi.

The list included 51 candidates in Uttar Pradesh, 24 in Madhya Pradesh, 15 each in Gujarat and Rajasthan, 20 for West Bengal, 12 in Kerala, 11 each in Assam, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, nine in Telangana, five in Delhi, two in Jammu and Kashmir, two in Arunachal Pradesh, one each in Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Daman and Diu.

The list also contained several surprises, some major upsets and apparent messages from BJP leadership for both voters as well as party members. The big surprises included a major one  from national capital Delhi, where the party affected a massive rejig, dropping as many as five of its seven sitting MPs—Parvesh Verma, Ramesh Bidhuri, Meenakshi Lekhi, Harsh Vardhan and Gautam Gambhir.

Really ‘dropped dropped’?

While for now it seems like game over for Delhi MPs like Verma, Bidhuri, Lekhi and Harsh Vardhan but observers say all may not be over for some.

The party appears to have given a clear message so far as controversial leaders like Bhopal MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Verma and Bidhuri are concerned.

Bidhuri sparked a major controversy when he made derogatory remarks targeting Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali during a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Verma advocated “economic boycott” of a particular community and Thakur, too, remained embroiled in controversies in her tenure.

Why Meenakshi Lekhi

Taking a swipe at the BJP a day after it dropped sitting MPs in the national capital, AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj claimed that the move shows that these lawmakers did little on the ground.

However, a section of Delhi media believes there is more behind the rejig. For example, Lekhi may be in the shortlist of candidates for Chandigarh or Punjab due to her Punjabi background. Also, apparently “talks” between Congress’ Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari and the BJP leadership are also “not closed”.

Though the speculation of Tewari joining the BJP was rubbished by his “office”, sources claim “talks” regarding Tewari contesting on a BJP ticket did happen and that he wants to contest from Chandigarh for which Anupam Kher, husband of the sitting Lok Sabha MP Kirron Kher, is also angling.

Meanwhile, the name of Union minister and four-time Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur is also doing the rounds for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat.

Congress leaders, however, dismiss the buzz around Tewari as “baseless rumours”, pointing to his appointment as a permanent Invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) last year.  Tewari, a part of the “G23, a group of dissenters who urged for extensive overhaul of the Congress organisation in 2020”, was inducted into the CWC by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

“He has done very well in the Congress, also serving as a Union minister. He is now working for the betterment of his constituency and the party,” they add.

But then in politics anything is possible.

The Delhi angle

Sources, in fact, say BJP is looking at “strengthening” its Delhi state leadership to take on AAP in the next Assembly elections and that is primarily the reason why leaders like Lekhi, Verma and Bidhuri have been benched in the Lok Sabha elections.

So far, from Delhi only Manoj Tiwari has retained his constituency.

Gautam Gambhir had posted on social media, requesting party president JP Nadda to relieve him of political duties as he wanted to focus on cricket commitments.

There are still two more names to be declared from Delhi. Meanwhile, all eyes are on BJP’s second list.