BJP MP Varun Gandhi is contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Pilibhit, from where his mother and Union minister Maneka Gandhi has traditionally contested.
Maneka and Varun swapped their seats and the Union minister is now contesting from Sultanpur.
According to PTI, Maneka had urged the BJP leadership to field Varun from Pilibhit, which is considered a relatively safe seat for her family. She is the sitting MP of Pilibhit and has been elected six time from the constituency since 1989.
Varun fought from Pilibhit in the 2009 general elections and won with a margin of 2.8 lakh votes. Maneka came back to Pilibhit in 2014 and won.
While campaigning in Pilibhit, Varun said that even if Muslims don’t vote for him, he’s ready to give them jobs. This came just days after his mother said that she will have second thoughts about helping Muslims if she wins from Sultanpur without the community’s help.
Varun is fighting against mahagathbandhan candidate Hemraj Verma of the Samajwadi Party. The Congress has not fielded a candidate but is backing one put up by the Apna Dal.
While Varun admitted this is “a tough election” for him, he asserted, “It is tough for others as well.”