BJP mascot Varun Gandhi finally groomed to take on Rahul

Updated: Thursday, May 2, 2013, 12:32 [IST]

Lucknow, May 2: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President, Rajnath Singh seems to have used his trump card -- Varun Gandhi at a right moment. The young BJP mascot, an MP from Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, seems to be ready to take on his young opponents -- Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav.

33-year-old Varun, who earlier had proved himself as a lucky charm for his party leaders, attended a rally in the state on Wednesday, May 1. Varun along with Rajnath Singh campaigned for the party ahead of crucial Lok Sabha election which is believed to be held in 2014.

According to sources, BJP would ask Varun to contest from Sultanpur which is close to Amethi and Rae Bareli, the two constituencies represented by his cousin brother Rahul Gandhi and aunt Sonia Gandhi respectively. Varun is likely to share dais along with former BJP president Nitin Gadkari during an upcoming rally in Sultanpur, the constituency which had been represented by his father Sanjay Gandhi.

Criticising CM Akhilesh Yadav's government in the state, Varun raised several questions saying, "The UP government has started a fleet of ambulances. But has any ambulance gone to the house of a poor person? They are distributing free laptops, what difference will that make?"

Addressing the crowd on International Workers' Day, Varun was quoted as saying, "We will have to take care of every BJP worker in the country, we will help them in every district across the country."

Varun, who recently has been promoted to the rank of national general secretary, has been praised by Rajnath Singh who said, "I believe that the youth have to be given the reins of the party. I wanted him to get more responsibility earlier, but he was very young." All 14 candidates, for whom Varun had campaigned during 2011 assembly election in the state, were elected.

Meanwhile, comparing Rajnath Singh with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Varun said, "I see a reflection of Atal -ji in him (Rajnath Singh). He is the only person who can unify the people of this country."

OneIndia News