Tied up in Bengal, Vijayvargiya opts out of Indore LS contest

INDORE: After

Lok Sabha

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has now opted out of the

Indore

Lok Sabha contest.

On Saturday,

Vijayvargiya

said his focus is solely on Bengal now, where BJP is hoping for major gains, but in the same breath he added that he will have to follow party directive is ordered to contest from Indore.

“I have told the party that I am

tied up in Bengal

. The challenge thrown by Bengal is the biggest for me. I don’t want to divert my attention from Bengal,” Vijayvargiya told reporters here.

Conditions in Indore are favourable for BJP and “any candidate fielded by the party will win”, he said. “But in Bengal, we are facing hardships to bring in favourable times. We feel that we will get great response from that state,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t be able to do justice to Indoreans if he contests the polls but spends too little time campaigning.

However, when asked if he would accept the party ticket, the BJP leader said, “If party gives me the responsibility, I can’t refuse.”

A week ago, Sumitra Mahajan -- eight-time MP from Indore who turned 76 on Friday -- had enough of the uncertainty over the Indore ticket, and opted out of the contest. “I am moving myself out of the equation to ease the confusion among senior BJP leaders over selection of candidate from Indore. They can choose whoever they want,” she wrote in a letter.

Asked about Mahajan, Vijayvargiya said, “Tai is not angry. She is our leader and will remain so. She welcomed the party’s decision to refrain from giving ticket to people over 75 years of age.”