Don't make Varun scapegoat, says mother Maneka

Varun Gandhi, whose alleged hate speeches triggered a row during the elections, should not be made a scapegoat for the BJP's poll debacle, his mother Maneka Gandhi said at the party's national executive meet in New Delhi on Saturday.

Launching a strong defence of her son, Maneka alleged that those who lost the elections were wrongly blaming their defeat on Varun's speeches.

In an apparent reference to chief poll strategist and in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Arun Jaitley, she alleged he was not accessible even on the phone and was mainly involved in planting stories in the media.

She sought to draw a contrast between his way of functioning to that of his predecessor late Pramod Mahajan, who she said enquired about the day-to-day progress of the candidates.

The MP from Aonla praised the Uttar Pradesh unit of the party but said it failed to produce results as the election in-charge "did not work at all".

She claimed the exit of Kalyan Singh from the party was a big loss and led to the defeat of leaders like Santosh Gangwar, who lost from Bareilly.

Maneka criticised the party's rigid stand on giving the ticket to Ashok Pradhan from Bulandshahr which had triggered Kalyan Singh's decision to quit.

Maneka demanded that those responsible for the defeat be taken to task.

On attacks that Varun's alleged hate speeches had led to polarisation of votes on communal lines, she claimed that Muslims decided to vote for whichever party that could defeat the BJP and realised it was the Congress.

Some party leaders felt that Muslim votes were not the BJP's core constituency and should not be seen as a reason for the defeat.

She alleged that the main reasons for the party's dismal performance were not being examined honestly.

Maneka attributed the defeat to late distribution of tickets.

Varun, a first-time MP from Pilibhit, was the target of attack by BJP leaders Shahnawaz Hussain and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi at the office bearers meeting yesterday. The duo contended that the BJP lost several seats in Uttar Pradesh due to polarisation of votes after Varun's speeches.

Varun was also present at the national executive meeting while she spoke.