Even though the controversy in BJP over Varanasi seat is yet to die down when senior party leaders - lalji Tandon and Kalraj Mishra - have claimed their right over lucknow and Kanpur seats respectively saying they have been asked by the senior leadership to contest from these seats.
lalji Tandon is sitting MP from lucknow while Kalraj Mishra is legislator from lucknow (east) and was tipped to contest lok Sabha election from Kanpur.
"Nobody had asked me to vacate the seat for any senior leader. I am a sitting MP. I had contested elections of corporator, legislator and of MP from lucknow and had won all of them. Why should I shift to some other constituency. I would contest the next lok Sabha election from lucknow only," Tandon told The Pioneer here on Monday.
The emotional Tandon even said: "I am born in lucknow. My karma kshetra was lucknow and will die in lucknow. I am not moving out to any other city."
The controversy erupted after it came to light that BJP national president Rajnath Singh, who is sitting MP from Ghaziabad , wants to contest from lucknow. It was believed that he wanted to change base because of emergence of AAP in NCR region. Shifting of Singh to lucknow was linked with BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s possibility of contesting election either from lucknow or Varanasi. It is also said that Tandon could be given Rajya Sabha seat for his sacrifice.
Tandon said that he could vacate the seat for Modi because lucknow had been the constituency of Prime Minister and Modi is prime ministerial candidate of BJP. "But no one so far asked me regarding this. I have come to know from media that Rajnath Singh might contest from lucknow. This news is taking round in media for many days but so far there is no denial from any quarter," he said.
Incidentally, same grievance has been aired by Kalraj Mishra. He claims that he was tipped to be party’s candidate from Kanpur and had accordingly he started making preparations. "The news reports now say that Dr Murli Manohar Joshi could contest from Kanpur and I could be shifted to Srawasti. No one has spokesn to me regarding this so far," Mishra told The Pioneer.
"Till date I know I am contesting election from Kanpur. The final decision would be taken by the party leadership and whatever decision they take would be binding on me," Mishra said.