Year later, Varun back campaigning in UP

Lalmani Verma : Lucknow, Mon Jun 18 2012, 10:35 hrs

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After lying low for a year, BJP national secretary and youngest MP Varun Gandhi will address a public meeting in support of party candidates for mayor and corporators in Meerut on Monday.

Varun also plans to address similar public meetings in Moradabad and Agra.

The BJP has fielded Harikant Ahluwalia in Meerut, Veena Agarwal in Moradabad and Indrajeet Valmiki in Agra for the post of mayor. Veena is the wife of party leader Vinod Agarwal. Sources said Vinod and the other two candidates are close to Varun and the party has given tickets to them on his suggestion.

Varun denied comment on why he was joining the local body election campaign but said he planned to visit Moradabad and Agra in the next few days.

Sources said the BJP central leadership and party workers in Lucknow had asked Varun to campaign across UP but Varun had not confirmed the programme for other districts yet.

The BJP's national executive meeting held in Lucknow in June 2011 was the last party programme in UP that Varun attended. His absence was noticed in two Jan Swabhiman Yatras in October and November 2011, organised before the Assembly elections. He was also missing during the two phases of L K Advani's Jan Chenta Yatra in UP.

The BJP had named Varun in its list of star campaigners in UP Assembly elections, but Varun did not step out of Pilibhit and campaigned only in the five local constituencies there. The BJP had given tickets to candidates suggested by him in these five constituencies.

Sources close to Varun had then linked his absence to "fundamental difference" with senior leaders over several issues. Sources said Varun had completely shifted his focus to national politics and he was not interested in UP.

He also skipped party meetings in Lucknow held for selection of candidates and campaign programmes.

Sources said that the party can give an important responsibility to Varun in UP before the Lok Sabha elections and hence it wants his movement across the state.

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