Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Laxmi Narayan Yadav from Sagar has gained one year of age in past five years.
He has turned 74 now. Ironically, he was 73 years, while filing nomination papers during 2014 parliamentary elections.
BJP circles believe that it was merely an effect of saffron party’s criteria in which any leader who has attained the age of 75 years would not be fielded in the election.
Among others in BJP, even party senior and the Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s ticket too have entangled in age row and is yet to be cleared. Mahajan, known as Taai turns 76 on this April 12.
Meanwhile, the election affidavit uploaded on the website of the Election Commission of India shows Yadav in his own declaration in 2014 had claimed he was 73-years-old. The affidavit however did not mention his date of birth. As the ticket announcement for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections are drawing closer, Yadav has claimed that he is 74-years-old.
When contacted, Yadav claimed he does not remember what was entered in his 2014 affidavit but affirmed that his date of birth was November 9, 1944. “I am not sure my age was mentioned as 73 years in 2014, I have no idea about it,” Yadav claimed.
Yadav was also lobbying for his son Sudhir but the party denied his candidature as the latter had lost the assembly polls. The party also feared vehement opposition from Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargav whose son Abhishek had withdrawn his claim for ticket after controversy on nepotism.
The locals also suggest that though Yadav’s name was in contention initially but he is almost out of the race on age factor. Besides names like former Finance minister Jayant Malaiya, his wife Sudha, Saroj Singh wife of former MP Bhupendra Singh and BJP spokesperson Rajnish Agrawal also were in the contention.