Bhopal: Delay in declaration of candidate by BJP for the prestigious Indore Lok Sabha constituency in Madhya Pradesh, represented eight times in a row by outgoing LS speaker Sumitra Mahajan, has given rise to speculations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be considered for the seat in the 2019 general elections.
Talks doing rounds in BJP circle here indicated that Mr Modi who has been re-nominated for Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh by BJP, may choose Indore as his second seat to contest from, in the upcoming LS polls.
Filing of nomination for Indore LS seat, which is going to polls on May 12, is going to end on April 22.
Significantly, Ms Mahajan who has already ruled herself out of contest in the upcoming parliamentary elections in the wake of BJP’s “decision” to deny ticket to party leaders who have crossed 76 years of age, on Friday reached Delhi to discuss the issue with the central leadership of the party.
“Ms Mahajan is likely to meet Mr Modi in Delhi to discuss the issue. The party leadership has already announced that the candidate for Indore will be finalised with her consent only”, a senior BJP leader told this newspaper here on Friday.
Ms Mahajan has made a statement saying that “It is her responsibility to win Indore for BJP”.
According to her, she has so far received requests from 17 aspirants for party ticket for Indore and the candidate for the seat would soon be finalised after discussing with Central party leadership.
“Candidate for Indore can be announced by April 22, the last day for filing of nomination for the state”, she said.
Ms Mahajan may play key role for retaining the seat for BJP since the constituency comprised around 4 lakh electorates who have migrated from Maharashtra.
Ms Mahajan has also her roots in Maharashtra. Sources said Indore may have drawn PM’s attention because the city has ranked number one in the Swachh Bharat survey by the Centre for the last three years.
When contacted, BJP national vice-president Prabhat Jha said, “The speculation has no basis”.
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