‘Will vacate Lucknow seat only for Modi’
11 March 2014 12:08 AM GMT
Tandon’s assertion comes at a time when BJP president Rajnath Singh is expected to contest from the Uttar Pradesh capital, which is considered as a safe seat for the BJP that also carries the legacy of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
‘Neither Rajnath ji nor Modi ji have approached me so far. But I have said several times that if Modi ji want’s to contest from Lucknow then I will happily leave the seat for him. But would not do so for anyone else,’ Tandon told reporters.
‘I was born in Lucknow and have nursed the constituency since my youth. So how can I leave it now. I will be here till my death,’ he added. ‘’I will contest only from Lucknow not from any other seat,’ he said.
Tandon’s statement has created another problem for the party, which claimed to have resolved the Varanasi issue with Murli Manohar Joshi softening his stand. He has announced that he will abide by the party’s decision.
Tandon, without taking the name of Rajnath Singh, said, ‘how can a person suddenly want to contest from a seat which has been nursed by someone else.’
He claimed that the only politician who has done something for Lucknow was Vajpayee. ‘In his absence I am trying to serve the city,’ he added.
Asked if he would reconsider if the party offers him a Rajya Sabha seat, he said, ‘’Presently I am focusing on the Lok Sabha elections and nothing else.’
Rajnath Singh, who is presently representing Ghazaibad Lok Sabha constituency, has shown interest in contesting from Lucknow seat. Recently, during his visit to Lucknow, he had conveyed to his close associates to prepare the ground in the state capital as he wishes to contest from here.
‘Neither Rajnath ji nor Modi ji have approached me so far. But I have said several times that if Modi ji want’s to contest from Lucknow then I will happily leave the seat for him. But would not do so for anyone else,’ Tandon told reporters.
‘I was born in Lucknow and have nursed the constituency since my youth. So how can I leave it now. I will be here till my death,’ he added. ‘’I will contest only from Lucknow not from any other seat,’ he said.
Tandon’s statement has created another problem for the party, which claimed to have resolved the Varanasi issue with Murli Manohar Joshi softening his stand. He has announced that he will abide by the party’s decision.
Tandon, without taking the name of Rajnath Singh, said, ‘how can a person suddenly want to contest from a seat which has been nursed by someone else.’
He claimed that the only politician who has done something for Lucknow was Vajpayee. ‘In his absence I am trying to serve the city,’ he added.
Asked if he would reconsider if the party offers him a Rajya Sabha seat, he said, ‘’Presently I am focusing on the Lok Sabha elections and nothing else.’
Rajnath Singh, who is presently representing Ghazaibad Lok Sabha constituency, has shown interest in contesting from Lucknow seat. Recently, during his visit to Lucknow, he had conveyed to his close associates to prepare the ground in the state capital as he wishes to contest from here.
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