In its first list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections scheduled for April-May, the BJP has opted to replace over 33 incumbent Members of Parliament (MPs). Notable among these replacements are individuals such as Pragya Thakur, alongside sitting MPs from Delhi, Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, and Ramesh Bidhuri.
These three leaders have made headlines in recent times due to their comments on various occasions. Their absence from the list suggests that the BJP is making careful decisions in preparation for the election, particularly in light of the challenge posed by the INDIA bloc.
Sadhvi Pragya Thakur
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Pragya Singh Thakur won by a significant margin of 3,64,822 votes against Congress leader Digvijay Singh from the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat. However, this time she has been replaced by Alok Sharma. Thakur, who is accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, has been involved in several controversies. While out on bail for health reasons, she was seen participating in kabaddi and attending garba nights. However, it was her statement referring to Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, as a "patriot" that caused significant backlash. Prime Minister Modi criticised her statement, stating that he would never forgive Pragya for calling Gandhi's assassin a patriot.
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"I did not seek a ticket before, and I am not seeking one now. The use of certain words in my previous statements might not have pleased Prime Minister Modi, and he had expressed that I wouldn't be forgiven. However, I had already apologised to him earlier," Thakur told the media after being denied a ticket.
Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma
Parvesh Verma, the BJP sitting MP from West Delhi, is the son of former Chief Minister late Sahib Singh Verma. He was replaced by Kamaljeet Sehrawat in the BJP list. During the 2019-20 protests related to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Verma made some statements about the protestors. "Lakhs of people gather there (Shaheen Bagh)... They will enter your houses, rape your sisters and daughters, kill them. There's time today, Modi ji and Amit Shah won't come to save you tomorrow," he said. In 2022, Verma's other statement sparked a row when asked the people to launch a public boycott against Muslims.
Ramesh Bidhuri
South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri was replaced by Ramvir Singh Bidhuri. Everything was going well for Ramesh Bidhuri until September 2023. He made “inappropriate remarks” against his fellow Parliamentarian Danish Ali. The BJP was embarrassed when the incident was shown on national television. Later Bidhuri expressed regret for his remarks in a meeting of the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee which heard both leaders separately. Later he was appointed as the BJP election in-charge of the Tonk constituency in Rajasthan ahead of the state Assembly polls 2023.
“There is no doubt that leaders such as Pragya Thakur, Ramesh Bidhuri and Parvesh Verma embarrassed the party with their provocative statements. Denial of tickets to them also sends a message that in public life, decorum must be maintained. In the past, the Prime Minister had warned the party leaders on several occasions that they should not make controversial statements," a BJP insider told NDTV.
While nothing can be said for sure, these decisions may also be a message that the BJP is leaving nothing to chance in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024.
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