New Delhi: BJP MP Jayant Sinha has asked the party to relieve him of electoral duties, signalling that he does not want an active role or a ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Mr Sinha's announcement came just hours after another party leader, Gautam Gambhir, hinted at his exit from electoral politics.
Both the MPs have requested BJP president JP Nadda to relieve them so that they can focus on their other commitments.
In a post on X, the MP from Jharkhand's Hazaribagh wrote, "I have requested Honourable Party President JP Nadda to relieve me of my direct electoral duties so that I can focus my efforts on combating global climate change in Bharat and around the world. Of course, I will continue to work with the party on economic and governance issues."
The announcements come amid reports that the two leaders may not get a ticket for the upcoming 2024 polls. The BJP is said to be contemplating giving tickets to several new leaders and some other sitting MPs also are understood to have told the party that they would like to focus on other organisational work.
The party has conducted extensive surveys to find out which leaders are popular among the masses. Sources told NDTV that both Gautam Gambhir and Jayant Sinha didn't fare well in the surveys and were not likely to get a ticket to contest in the 2024 elections.
The BJP is expected to release a first list of candidates - over 100 names, which will include heavyweights like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah - for the 2024 Lok Sabha election soon. The party held marathon overnight meetings in Delhi, including one led by the Prime Minister at his Delhi residence that began 11 pm Thursday and finished at 4 am Friday.
Earlier today, BJP's East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir also said he said asked the party to relieve him from political duties so that he can focus on his upcoming cricket commitments.
"I have requested Hon'ble Party President JP Nadda ji to relieve me of my political duties so that I can focus on my upcoming cricket commitments. I sincerely thank Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi for giving me the opportunity to serve the people. Jai Hind," Mr Gambhir wrote.