Varun Gandhi addresses rally in Maneka’s battlefield Sultanpur, his first these polls

Sultanpur (UP), May 23 (PTI) BJP leader Varun Gandhi on Thursday addressed his first rally in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls in support of Maneka Gandhi, and said his mother has a close connection with the people of her Sultanpur constituency.

"Elections are going on everywhere in the country...but there is only one region in the country where people don't call their MP, Sansad ji, Mantri ji, or by her name, but call her mata ji," the Pilibhit MP said here amid applause from the public.

"I am confident that this time you people are going to break all the records. I have no enmity with anyone. When I came to Sultanpur for the first time, I felt the 'Khusbhu' (fragrance) of my father here, but today I feel proud to say that I have come to my motherland," he said.

This is the first time Varun Gandhi has addressed a rally this election season. He has remained out of the public space ever since he was replaced by the BJP with Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit, which went to polls in the first phase of the elections.

At the rally, Varun Gandhi said that if a crisis befalls any family of Sultanpur, they should not consider themselves alone. "I am giving you my phone number." "When Sultanpur's name is taken in the country, the name of Maneka Gandhi also comes. I promise that no person in Sultanpur will ever remain alone. Just like everyone in Pilibhit has Varun Gandhi's number, similarly in Sultanpur I have seen my mother answering anyone's call and try to solve problems," he added.

Speaking with PTI Videos, Maneka Gandhi said, "Varun Gandhi is here and he will do 15-20 meetings today. His campaigning will certainly benefit us." She also urged people to vote keeping their personal interest in mind. "They should think which MP can do their work and then vote." A former MP from Sultanpur, Varun Gandhi swapped the seat with his mother in 2019, the year he recorded a thumping majority in Pilibhit and Maneka won from Sultanpur.

In Sultanpur, Maneka Gandhi is pitted against Ram Bahadur Nishad of Samajwadi Party and Uday Raj Verma of Bahujan Samaj Party.

Voting in Sultanpur will take place on May 25 in the sixth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. PTI