New Delhi: Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Sunday said that a decision on who will contest from Varanasi will be taken by the “parliamentary board” of the party which will meet on Thursday. Later, he clarified that by parliamentary board, he meant the central election committee (CEC), which is expected to meet on March 13. If his constituency is changed, Dr Joshi is expected to contest from Kanpur.
Dr Joshi, 80, is believed to have raised this issue at the CEC meet on Saturday and had sought clarification from the party leadership. But he was apparently told that the issue remains undecided.
When repeatedly asked from which parliamentary seat he wants to contest, the senior BJP leader remained noncommittal. “The party will take a decision which will neither dent the prestige of our PM candidate nor compromise the party’s winning chances,” he replied to a question on who will contest from Varanasi. He added, “I don’t talk about such issues outside. Whatever I say is within the party.”
Mr Joshi is believed to be unhappy over moves to field Mr Modi from Varanasi. Some sections of the party are keen that Mr Modi should contest from Varanasi but Mr Joshi is asserting his right over his candidature from the constituency in UP.
To repeated questions on whether he would agree to any decision, he shot back, “every disciplined soldier accepts” the party’s decision. He went on to add, “I don’t talk about such issues outside. Whatever I say is within the party.”
At the same time, he trashed reports of a poster war between supporters of Mr Modi and him. Another senior party leader Sushma Swaraj, who is understood to have joined Mr Joshi on the issue at the party’s election committee meeting on Saturday.
