AHMEDABAD: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s niece, Sonal
Modi, who had sought the BJP nomination to contest the Ahmedabad civic body
polls
, on Thursday failed to get a ticket with the party citing new rules for candidates.
The BJP announced its candidates for the coming elections to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), but Sonal Modi’s name does not figure in the list.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Sonal Modi had said she sought the BJP ticket from the Bodakdev ward of the AMC. Sonal Modi, a homemaker in her late 30s, is the daughter of PM Modi’s brother Prahlad Modi, who owns a fair price shop in the city and is president of the Gujarat Fair Price Shops Association.
The BJP list released late in the evening on Thursday does not have the name of Sonal Modi as the candidate from Bodakdev or any other ward.
The rules are the same for everybody, state BJP president C R Paatil said when asked the denial of the ticket to Sonal Modi. The Gujarat BJP recently announced that relatives of party leaders will not be considered for tickets for the upcoming polls. Sonal Modi had, however, said that she had sought the ticket as a BJP worker, not as the niece of the PM.
“I have sought the ticket in my capacity as a BJP worker not as a relative of the PM. Even if I am not given the ticket, I will remain active in the party as a worker, Sonal Modi had told reporters.
Prahlad Modi justified his daughter’s decision, saying all his family members are free to take their own decisions. “This is not a case of nepotism. My family never used Narendra Modi’s name for our benefit. We all earn our own bread and butter.