Lok Sabha elections 2019: Blow for BJP as former MP CM Babulal Gaur ‘considering’ Congress ticket offer

Giving jitters to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of coming Lok Sabha elections, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Babulal Gaur on Wednesday said that he was “considering” Congress party’s ticket offer. Gaur, a veteran BJP leader, announced that the Congress leader Digvijay Singh has offered him a ticket from Bhopal Lok Sabha constituencies and that he was ready to “consider the proposal”.

"Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who has always been praiseworthy of my relations with rival political groups, offered me a party ticket to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Bhopal. I was surprised but replied, I will consider," The Times of India quoted the 89-year-old leader as saying. Gaur also made it clear that he was not heading into the sunset and intended to fight the coming Lok Sabha elections.

The saffron party is often accused of side-lining its veterans. In 2014, LK Advani, the man who played the key role in the BJP’s growth from 2 Lok Sabha seats to the first government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was not given any ministry. The Congress wanted to encash Gaur’s popularity as it knows that the BJP may not even offer the ticket to the 89-year-old leader.

"There will be major political changes in the coming days, watch out," Gaur said when asked about BJP’s plan to give tickets on winnability criteria.

Speaking about Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into active politics, the former BJP MP said that it may be good for the Congress but gains and losses in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections can’t be predicted at this time.

After years of speculation, Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday finally entered active politics as she was appointed the Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East. Jyotiraditya Scindia was appointed the general secretary for Uttar Pradesh West. According to reports, she will fight the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from her mother Sonia Gandhi’s constituency Rae Bareli.