PM Narendra Modi's anti-nepotism plea follows lobbying for tickets

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to exhort BJP seniors to desist from seeking tickets for kin as a number of party leaders, including MPs, mainly from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, have been lobbying for assembly poll tickets for their family members.

Sources said more than 10 MPs from the two states have sought tickets for their children or spouses, which hasn't gone down well with Modi and party president Amit Shah. The two leaders have consistently tried to steer BJP away from a culture of dynastic succession--an issue on which the party has often cornered the Congress terming it a “fiefdom“of the Gandhi-Nehru family .

During the concluding session of the two-day BJP national executive meet last Saturday, Modi had exhorted party office-bearers and leaders not to seek tickets for their kith and kin at the expense of deserving party workers. “Please don't put pressure for securing tickets for your family members, whether a brother, a sister or children. Party will do justice to all. We have to work unitedly to win all the five states,“ the PM had said.

Sources said some of the leaders even approached RSS office-bearers seeking their support for their relatives' candidature. Even Sah-sarsanghchalak of the party's ideological parent, Bhaiyaji Joshi was approached. However, the RSS functionary took strong exception to this and bluntly refused to interfere on ticket distribution of the party saying that Sangh had no role to play and it is for the BJP to take a call on candidates.

Reports suggest some of the leaders have used their letter-heads also citing “merits“ of their family members on the caste equations and the work done by them in their respective constituencies.