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Will Varun Gandhi's controversies help BJP win UP 2017?

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DailyBite
DailyBiteJun 14, 2016 | 17:23

Will Varun Gandhi's controversies help BJP win UP 2017?

Varun Gandhi and controversy are two sides of the same coin. The BJP Lok Sabha MP made his parliamentary debut from Pilibhit in Terai in 2009 and then shifted to Sultanpur.

A scion of the Gandhi dynasty, he won the hearts of right-wing Hindutva forces with his controversial "anti-Muslim" speech in 2009. Varun became a BJP general secretary at the age of 33.

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Many huge posters of Varun Gandhi during the BJP executive meet in Allahabad sparked a big political controversy.

He has a popular surname, he is young and has been working in the state for more than a decade now. But he lost his general secretary job in 2014.

Recently, many huge posters of Varun Gandhi during the BJP executive meet in Allahabad sparked a major political controversy. 

Here's a timeline of all his major controversies:

On June 10, 2016, huge billboards of the BJP MP from Sultanpur, Varun Gandhi, greeted everyone coming out of the Allahabad airport and railway station.

Allahabad is the hometown of India's first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, his great grandfather.

The posters urge people to make BJP victorious in next year's state polls and set a victory target of 265-plus seats for a clear majority in the 404-seat assembly. They have been splashed across the city that will host more than 300 BJP leaders for two days.

A silent battle is being fought among party leaders to become UP's chief ministerial face and the posters in Allahabad indicate infighting in BJP's UP unit - this has led to another controversy.

Chronology of some of Varun's past controversies:

On March 6, 2009, a case was filed against Gandhi for allegedly making a provocative speech about Muslims at a meeting in Pilibhit's Dalchand area.

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Gandhi said: "Cut off the hand that is raised against Hindus... If you want to save the Hindu religion, vote for me. If a Hindu doesn't vote for me, he would be betraying his religion." However, he was acquitted by a court in the matter.

He was arrested on March 28, 2009 and stayed behind bars for 20 days.

"Yeh panja nahi hai, yeh kamal ka hath hai. Yeh kat... ke galey ko kat dega chunao ke bad. Jai Sri Ram! Ramji ki jai! (This is not the Congress' symbol of the palm, this is the hand of the BJP's Lotus. It will slice off the necks of Muslims after the polls. Jai Sri Ram!)"

In August 2011, Varun Gandhi strongly pitched for the Jan Lokpal Bill. Gandhi offered his official residence to Hazare to hold a fast, after the latter was denied permission by the government.

When Hazare was jailed, Gandhi offered to table the Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament. On August 24, he went to Ramlila Maidan as a common man to support the cause of the veteran activist, becoming the first politician to openly support the anti-corruption cause.

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On March 5, 2013, a Pilibhit court acquitted Gandhi in the second hate speech case registered against him during the 2009 Lok Sabha election campaign.

On February 11, 2014, Varun Gandhi launched his election campaign, recalling his father Sanjay Gandhi and questioning the extraordinary attention being lavished on Amethi without naming cousin Rahul Gandhi.

Varun is likely to contest from Sultanpur this time.

"Years ago, my father (Sanjay Gandhi) began his political journey by offering prayers at the nearby Bijuthua Hanuman Temple and giving a speech here. He dreamt of working for you all but died young," Varun said at Kadipur Junior High School ground after a visit to the same temple.

"Now, God has sent the son to fulfill his father's dream," the Gandhi scion said amid lusty cheering from the crowd.

Varun then asked, "Why is work done only in Amethi, Kannauj, Jaswant Nagar and Mainpuri, but not in Sultanpur?"

The reference to the Congress vice president was clear, but Varun desisted from naming him.

Pitching for his candidacy, he added, "I showed it in Pilibhit where I took up development work."

On April 1, 2014, Varun Gandhi praises cousin and rival Rahul's work in Amethi. Addressing a public meeting, Gandhi said that Sultanpur must replicate the development work done by Rahul.

"We require small scale industries, like the ones Rahul Gandhi has set up in Amethi. However, I cannot give that example as I haven't seen the work at the ground level," Gandhi said.

On April 3, Maneka Gandhi pulls up Varun: "What Varun has said is wrong. I have been to Amethi. He should not speak before verifying facts."

On April 15, 2014, Varun Gandhi's veiled attack on Priyanka Gandhi sparks a controversy. He says don't see inherent decency as weakness.

In a point-by-point veiled rebuttal to his cousin, BJP leader Varun Gandhi said, "My inherent decency and large-heartedness should not be seen as weakness."

Stating that he has never crossed the "Lakshman rekha" of decency, Varun Gandhi in a press release, said: "I have always viewed other's respect as my own, whether it is a member of my family or senior leader from any party. It is my request to all that instead of personal attacks, we debate unemployment, corruption, poverty illiteracy."

The BJP MP hit out saying, "Let us try to raise the level of discourse rather than lowering it."

On July 1, 2015, former IPL chief Lalit Modi dragged Varun Gandhi into Lalitgate, saying the leader had met him in London "a few years ago" and offered to "settle everything" with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

"@varungandhi80 came to see me at my house a few years ago and said he can settle everything in @INCIndia with his aunt," Lalit Modi tweeted.

The former IPL chief urged Varun to clarify his position.

"Please clarify @varungandhi80 did u or did u not come to my house in London. Whilst staying at the Ritz hotel in London a few years ago," said another of his tweets.

The Sultanpur MP denied the charges made, but admitted to meeting the former IPL chief.

Will these controversies help Varun Gandhi or ruin his political future and ambitions? As always, time alone will tell.

Last updated: June 14, 2016 | 17:27
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