New Delhi, Following a pattern reminiscent of the Delhi Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced its initial list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, revealing 195 names however sidelined sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) like Ramesh Bidhuri (South Delhi), Pragya Thakur (Bhopal MP), and Parvesh Singh Verma (West Delhi) who had before created buzz for their controversial speeches against party lines and tainted image.
The BJP’s decision to sideline these prominent MPs has surprised many observers, some say it is a party’s strategic direction, leading to questions about the party’s underlying motives and electoral calculus.
The decision by the BJP’s Central Leadership has left political observers puzzled, with some suggesting that these leaders had previously attempted to curry favour with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior party officials in hopes of securing favourable positions on the candidate list.
Rakesh Kumar, a leading psephologist, believes that the BJP’s decision to drop these “motormouth” MPs is a strategic move.
According to Kumar, it sends a strong message to the public that lawmakers with a “tainted” image do not have a place in the priorities of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
“The BJP’s move is a clear and tactical strategy to distance itself from “troublemaker MPs,” especially amidst the opposition’s attempts to dislodge the party from power. Notably, all three Parliamentarians have been accused of making hate speeches and inciting hatred. The same thing happened with young leader Nupur Sharma who was also on the list of possible candidates,” Kumar elaborated.
Pragya Thakur, in particular, has been embroiled in controversy since her nomination as a BJP candidate in the 2019 polls. Her labelling of Nathuram Godse as a “patriot” drew severe criticism, even from PM Modi himself, who expressed his reluctance to fully forgive her despite her apology.
Similarly, Ramesh Bidhuri’s series of jibes at fellow MP Danish Ali inside Parliament led to a significant backlash. Despite later apologizing, his abusive remarks created a huge controversy also Bidhuri is known for his filthy language.
Regarding Parvesh Singh Verma, a two-time BJP MP and son of Delhi’s former Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, his omission from the candidate list came as a surprise. Gupta speculates that Verma may have faced repercussions for hate speech, but he could still play a role in the party’s larger strategy for the 2024 elections.
Kumar dismissed the growing threat of the AAP-Congress combine as the reason behind the BJP’s candidate selection for Delhi. However, he acknowledged the BJP’s poor performance in the MCD elections as a probable factor in dropping Meenakshi Lekhi, the current MP from New Delhi.
In conclusion, he emphasized that the BJP’s focus remains on candidates’ winnability factor and ensuring that controversial MPs do not become liabilities for the party, especially in light of the opposition’s attempts to exploit such controversies.
