BAHARAMPUR: Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Tuesday claimed that Varun Gandhi was denied a Lok Sabha ticket by the BJP because of his connection with the Gandhi family and extended an invitation to him to join the grand old party.

Chowdhury described Varun as a “dabang neta (strong leader)” and said he is a learned man with a clean image.

“He is a dabang neta and a very educated man. He has a clean image. Varun Gandhi has a connection with the Gandhi family. This is why the BJP denied him a ticket (for Lok Sabha polls). I think he should come (join the Congress), we will be very happy,” Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress party in the outgoing Lok Sabha, said.

Varun and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi are cousins. Varun, a two-term Lok Sabha MP from Pilibhit, has often aired views deemed critical of his party’s governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh. However, the BJP has renominated his mother Maneka Gandhi from Sultanpur.

Varun has been substituted with former Congress member Jitin Prasada to run for the Pilibhit seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh.