Why BJP has dropped some of its most controversial MPs in first list for LS polls

While the BJP has taken a clear lead by releasing the first list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, some of the key omissions like Bhopal MP Pragya Thakur, South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri and West Delhi MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma have drawn equal attention of people.

Interestingly, all three leaders hogged the limelight for their controversial remarks inside and outside Parliament. The BJP’s move to drop them clearly indicates that the party is in no mood to take any chances against the INDIA bloc in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP has dropped four of its sitting MPs in Delhi. The party has named Praveen Khandelwal as its candidate from Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha Sabha seat, dropping two-term MP and former Union minister Harsh Vardhan. It has also replaced two-term MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma with Kamaljeet Sehrawat in West Delhi seat. The BJP allotted ticket to Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of late party leader Sushma Swaraj, as its candidate from New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, currently held by Meenakshi Lekhi. The party named Ramvir Singh Bidhuri as its candidate, dropping Ramesh Bidhuri, in South Delhi constituency.

Pragya Thakur

Among the most controversial BJP lawmakers is Bhopal MP Pragya Thakur who has been replaced with Alok Sharma. An accused in the 2008 Malegaon bombings case, the firebrand leader has courted several controversies over the last five years. She has been spotted playing kabaddi and attending garba nights despite the fact that she is out on bail on health grounds.

However, the controversy that spelt doom for her was a statement in which she called Nathuram Godse, the man who shot Mahatma Gandhi dead, a “patriot”. Her remarks drew severe flak from Prime Miniser Narendra Modi. “The remarks made about Gandhiji are very bad and very wrong for society. She has sought an apology, but I would never be able to forgive her completely,” he said.

Later, Thakur sparked another row for her remarks on former Mumbai ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who died during the 26/11 terror attacks. She had said he was killed because of her “curse”, leading to a show-cause notice from the Election Commission of India (ECI) and prompting the BJP to distance itself from her.

Party sources said she was also not active in her constituency and this factor played a critical role in her being dropped.

Parvesh Varma

Another key omission in the BJP list that took many by surprise was West Delhi MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma. A two-time MP and son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, he is known to have a strong support base.

However, the 46-year-old leader has been in the news for his inciting remarks. The BJP leadership was apparently upset with his remarks last year when he called for an “economic boycott” of a particular community. He made these comments during a gathering titled 'Virat Hindu Sabha,' organised by the local VHP unit and other Hindu outfits in East Delhi on October 9 last year. In his speech, Verma advocated for a "complete boycott" of "these people," without explicitly naming any particular community.

Earlier, Verma had made controversial remarks during the Shaheen Bagh protest ahead of 2020 elections in Delhi, stating that the demonstrators would be cleared in an hour if the BJP came to power in the national capital.

Ramesh Bidhuri

Another MP who paid the price for his controversial remarks is South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri. He used Islamophobic slurs for Amroha MP Danish Ali during a discussion on the success of Chandrayaan-3 in the Lok Sabha in September last year. The derogatory remarks were caught on camera and sparked a huge row. While the South Delhi MP later apologised, the BJP's first list shows it was not enough.

Videos of Bidhuri's contentious comments targeting Ali quickly circulated on social media, drawing widespread criticism. BJP president JP Nadda has reportedly issued a show cause notice to Bidhuri, their party MP, over his use of objectionable language against the BSP MP within the Parliament. The offending remarks were expunged from the Parliamentary records, and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh promptly expressed regret for Bidhuri's conduct during the session.

Jayant Sinha

The BJP has also dropped sitting Hazaribag MP Jayant Sinha and replaced him with Manish Jaiswal. Son of former Union minister Yashwant Sinha, Jayant had earlier requested party president JP Nadda to relieve him from direct electoral duties.

In 2019, Jayant Sinha found himself in the eye of storm when he and some other BJP leaders extended financial aid to pay the legal fees of the persons accused of lynching a meat trader in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh in 2017. His admission came a year after he triggered a controversy by felicitating and posing with the six accused after they were released on bail and taken straight to his residence in Hazaribagh.