Opinion BJP’s parivarwad in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand will blunt its attack on Congress

BJP has always taken hits on parties that have promoted nepotism and dynasty politics. Little did it expect that such an issue will come to haunt it.

BJP, Uttar Pradesh elections, Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh, Amit Singh, Pankaj Singh, BJP tickets, bjp UP tickets, Lok Sabha MP, Hukum Singh, Mrigyanka Singh, Kairana Assembly seat, india news

Kanishka Singh

New DelhiJanuary 27, 2017 07:06 PM IST First published on: Jan 27, 2017 at 07:06 PM IST

Rajnath Singh and Lalji Tandon; their sons Pankaj (extreme left )and Ashutosh (extreme right). (File Photo)

The Bharatiya Janata Party recently released its list of candidates for the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Assembly elections. Interestingly, the party, which claims to be devoid of dynasts and opposed to dynasty politics, have given tickets to several candidates who are closely related to the party’s established leadership. Going by the way tickets have been distributed in the BJP, it would seem its dynasty politics jab on Congress is just a slogan.

There are rather some high profile names that just couldn’t miss the eye. Pankaj Singh, son of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, has been given ticket to fight from Noida.

Some of the other dynasts in the making who have got tickets include Gopal Tandon, son of BJP stalwart Lalji Tandon. Gopal will fight for the Lucknow East seat. Brahm Dutt Dwivedi’s son Sunil Dutt Dwivedi will fight the election from Farrukhabad. Brij Bhushan Singh’s son Prateek Sharan Singh has been given the Gonda ticket. Prem Lala Katiyar’s daughter Nilima Katiyar will fight for Kalyanpur seat.

Further, former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh’s grandson Sandeep Singh has been granted ticket from Atrauli. Another name that figures on the list is Mriganka Singh who is the daughter of Kairana MP Hukum Singh. Kairana had come in the headlines last year for an alleged exodus of nearly 250 Hindu families. Reports suggest that Singh had been working behind the scenes for nearly a year now to get a ticket for his daughter.

Turncoat Vijay Bahuguna’s son Saurabh Bahuguna, competing with Gandhis and Scindias, is a third-generation politician. He has been granted ticket from Sitarganj and former Uttarakhand chief minister BC Khanduri’s daughter Ritu Khanduri Bhushan will fight for the Yamkeshwar seat. The Devprayag ticket has been given to Vinod Khandari, son of former state cabinet minister Matuhar Singh.

All this has neither gone amiss from Opposition parties nor disappointed leaders like Sandeep Bali who have rebelled in protest. BJP has always taken hits on parties that have promoted nepotism and dynasty politics. Little did it expect that such an issue will come to haunt it.