Will Varun Gandhi Quit BJP?

Varun Gandhi, despite the BJP minister’s name being involved in the Lakhimpur Kheri case, was among the first few political leaders to tweet the video.

There’s often much noise around people from other parties joining the ruling BJP. A message is sent out revealing that an “eminent” personality will join the saffron party. Journalists feel excited for the news break, and the excitement is echoed in the news channel headlines and debates. The BJP inducted dozens of TMC leaders before the West Bengal assembly elections. Unfortunately for them, it didn’t translate in victory. The BJP, over the last 7 years, has inducted numerous Congress leaders, some very prominent and promising, and has given them important positions too. MP and Karnataka are testimony to how the BJP inducted Congress and Opposition MLAs and formed governments.

However, there is never much clamour around a “prominent” personality from BJP joining any opposition parties. After the reverse migration of leaders from the BJP to TMC in West Bengal, and after a sitting Uttarakhand BJP minister joined the Congress, it is concerning for the BJP high command that the tide can change.

One such BJP leader, whose name has been in the headlines for past one week, is Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi. Other than the baggage of being a Gandhi in the BJP, Varun Gandhi seemingly has other issues with the saffron party that could drive him away.

The speculations around Varun Gandhi quitting the BJP began after he wrote a letter to UP CM Yogi Adityanath demanding a strict action in Lakhimpur Kheri case. BJP’S union minister Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra had allegedly mowed down farmers with his car while they were returning from the protest in Lakhimpur Kheri district.

Varun Gandhi said: “I pay homage to the farmers who were martyred in the heart-wrenching incident of Lakhimpur Kheri. I request the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh to take strict action in this matter.”

लखीमपुर खीरी की हृदय-विदारक घटना में शहीद हुए किसानों को श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करता हूँ। इस प्रकरण में उत्तर प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री जी से सख्त कार्यवाही करने का निवेदन करता हूँ। pic.twitter.com/e2tE1x4z3T

— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) October 4, 2021

It was the first instance of any BJP leader standing in support of the farmers who have been protesting for over a year against the three contentious farm laws. In the context of upcoming assembly elections in UP, Varun Gandhi could prove out to be a fatal injury for the saffron party if not pacified. He has been a member of parliament for three terms now, and enjoys a fair amount of popularity in eastern UP.

Before looking at how Varun Gandhi has constantly irked the BJP top leadership in the past few days, let us understand where does he fit in UP’s political equation and how did a Gandhi end up being on the arch rival BJP’s side.

Early life

Varun Gandhi was born in Delhi on 13 March 1980 to Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi. He is the grandson of former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi and the great-grandson of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Varun was born soon after Indira Gandhi regained power in the 1980 general election. Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane crash when Varun was three months old in June 1980.

Varun’s mother Maneka Gandhi’s relationship with Indira Gandhi gradually disintegrated after Sanjay’s death and they would continually argue with one another. Maneka was eventually forced out of 1, Safdarjung Road, the prime minister’s residence, after a fallout with Indira. Maneka Gandhi fought 1984 lok sabha elections against Rajiv Gandhi in Amethi but lost it. She later joined Janata Dal.

Political career

Varun Gandhi was first introduced to the Pilibhit constituency by his mother during the 1999 election campaigning. Maneka had been a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) since earlier but she and Varun formally Joined the BJP in 2004.

In the 2009 general election, the BJP decided to field Varun Gandhi as its candidate from the Pilibhit constituency instead of his mother Maneka Gandhi. He won the seat by receiving 419,539 votes. The victory was the strongest of any of the four Gandhi family candidates in the election: his mother Maneka Gandhi, aunt Sonia Gandhi and first cousin Rahul Gandhi. In March 2013, Rajnath Singh appointed Varun Gandhi as the national general secretary of the BJP. He became the youngest ever general secretary of the party. In May 2013, Varun Gandhi was made in charge of the BJP’s affairs in West Bengal.

He went on to win 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Sultanpur constituency, and 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Pilibhit.

Support to farmers

Though it was initially surprising for many people when Varun Gandhi wrote the letter to UP CM after the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, it became evident in the next few days that the Gandhi scion is up for an open confrontation with the party.

There were different narratives being peddled in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. Some sections also accused the farmers of pelting stones, which according to them resulted in the car accident that followed. However, once the video of the incident surfaced on the social media, it became clear that it was an unprovoked attack and farmers were not even looking back when the cars hit them.

Varun Gandhi, despite the BJP minister’s name being involved in the case, was among the first few political leaders to tweet the video.

Posting the video on his Twitter profile, which has garnered over 4.5 lakh views till now, Varun Gandhi said: “This video of deliberately crushing farmers with vehicles in Lakhimpur Kheri will shake anyone’s soul. Police should take cognizance of this video and immediately arrest the owners of these vehicles, the people sitting in them, and other persons involved in this case.”

After another video of the incident came out, which was more clearer than the earlier slo-mo video, Varun Gandhi again tweeted the video stressing that “protesters cannot be silenced through murder”.

The video is crystal clear. Protestors cannot be silenced through murder. There has to be accountability for the innocent blood of farmers that has been spilled and justice must be delivered before a message of arrogance and cruelty enters the minds of every farmer. pic.twitter.com/Z6NLCfuujK

— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) October 7, 2021

“The video is crystal clear. Protestors cannot be silenced through murder. There has to be accountability for the innocent blood of farmers that has been spilled and justice must be delivered before a message of arrogance and cruelty enters the minds of every farmer,” Varun Gandhi wrote.

On the same day, the BJP dropped Varun Gandhi and his mother, Sultanpur MP Maneka Gandhi, from its 80-member national executive.

Responding on his and his mother’s exclusion from the party’s national executive, Varun Gandhi said: “I have not attended a single NEC for the last five years. I do not think I was on it.”

He did not stop there. After union minister Ajay Mishra, whose son is arrested in the case, said Khalistanis had engineered the events in Lakhimpur Kheri, Varun Gandhi slammed the minister without taking his name.

“An attempt to turn #LakhimpurKheri into a Hindu vs Sikh battle is being made. Not only is this an immoral & false narrative, it is dangerous to create these fault-lines & reopen wounds that have taken a generation to heal.We must not put petty political gains above national unity,” Varun Gandhi wrote on Twitter.

If that was not enough, the BJP MP on Thursday tweeted an undated video of (a very young-looking) Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in which the late former Prime Minister warns the government against intimidating farmers.

According to news agency PTI, the video is from 1980 and Mr Vajpayee is cautioning the then Indira Gandhi government against repressing farmers.

Wise words from a big-hearted leader… pic.twitter.com/xlRtznjFAx

— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) October 14, 2021

“… warn the government against intimidating farmers. Don’t try to scare us… Farmers are not going to be scared. We don’t want to use farmers’ movement for politics…” Mr Vajpayee says in the video.

“We support their genuine demands, and if the government tries to scare us, or misuse the laws, or disregard the peaceful movement of farmers, we will also become part of the movement,” he adds.

Varun Gandhi tweeted the former PM’s video with a caption: “Wise words from a big-hearted leader…”

Will Varun Gandhi quit BJP?

The most asked question in UP’s politics presently is whether Varun And Maneka Gandhi will end their decades long association with the BJP and join another party?

Looking at how Varun Gandhi has openly targeted his party over Lakhimpur Kheri incident, his chances of staying in the saffron party without confrontations are very minimal. The BJP, on the other hand, looks quite willing to let go off the mother-son duo. The interesting question is- in case they decide to bid a farewell to the BJP, which party will they join?

Priyanka Gandhi providing hopes for Congress resurgence in UP, and she and Varun Gandhi being vocal about the same case, make a good case for the Gandhi reunion. If Varun Gandhi holds the Congress’ ‘hand’, it will be a big boost to Priyanka Gandhi’s campaign in UP. It is, however, difficult to guess whether the Gandhis will let go the bitterness of the past and reunite. Samajwadi Party, being projected the real opposition to the BJP in the state, could be another party that Varun Gandhi can probably join.

Many political experts also see Varun’s eagerness to rise in terms of position as a reason behind this conflict with the party. Despite being a third term MP, Varun Gandhi has not been given any ministerial positions yet in the Modi cabinet. Though his mother was a minister in the first Modi government, she was dropped in 2019.

For now, it remains unclear whether Varun Gandhi will join another political party ahead of UP polls or whether he will continue in the BJP and play the mood-spoiler for the top leadership like Subramanian Swamy does.