NEW DELHI, 17 February 2004 — Varun Gandhi, a scion of India’s politically powerful Gandhi family, yesterday joined India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party along with mother Maneka Gandhi.
Spurning the family’s decades of association with the Congress party, Varun, 23, a grandson of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, joined the BJP ahead of national elections in April and May.
Maneka, who was elected to her fourth term as a lawmaker in 1999 as an independent candidate with the BJP’s support, will seek re-election from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh in the forthcoming election.
But it is Varun’s entry that the BJP cadres are excited about, since he is expected to fill a great void of young leaders in the party. At a ceremony at the BJP headquarters here, Varun said he had joined the BJP because the country needed experienced leaders like Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and a party with “proven ability to lead the country forward.”
He said he would adhere to his family’s tradition of public service but said the country should not “return to populist policies and quick-fix solutions,” a reference to Congress policy.
Varun is two years too young to run for Parliament himself. His mother previously served in Vajpayee’s Cabinet.
Congress is headed by Sonia Gandhi, Varun’s aunt, who has never gotten along with Maneka.
“Historically, my family has been part of the Congress party but I believe what my family was true to was not a party but a value system, a tradition of self-sacrifice,” Varun told reporters.
Varun said in an earlier interview on Aaj Tak television news: “I respect my aunt and my cousins and there is no question of criticizing them.” When asked if his aunt would be unacceptable as prime minister, he said, “Yes, I agree, one of her drawbacks is her foreign birth.” Sonia Gandhi is an Indian citizen born in Italy.
Varun is the great grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister.
Maneka, the daughter-in-law of Indira Gandhi, is widow of Sanjay Gandhi, who died in a plane crash in 1980, weeks after Varun was born.
Varun’s entry into the BJP comes a month after his cousins Priyanka and Rahul plunged into campaigning, triggering speculation they may run in the elections to prop up Congress’s prospects.
Political pundits said the BJP was hoping to cash in on the dynastic pull of the Gandhi-Nehru family, particularly in Hindi heartland states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh where people still revere the Gandhis, India’s answer to the Kennedys.
— Additional input from agencies
