JATIYA ADVOCATES TICKETS FOR MP DYNASTS

Jatiya, 76, is seeking a ticket for his son Rajkumar for the Assembly polls.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA NEW DELHI

On Tuesday, during a meeting of the core group of BJP leaders in Bhopal that had met to discuss the next year's Assembly election, the newly inducted parliamentary board member Satyanarayan Jatiya opened the proverbial Pandora's box by stating that election ticket should not be denied to anyone just because he comes from a political family or because his father or mother is a party leader.

The 76-year-old Jatiya, who was recently inducted into the all-powerful parliamentary board, has been a one-time MLA from Agar seat (Dewas Lok Sabha constituency) and seven-time Lok Sabha member from Ujjain. Jatiya is seeking a ticket for his son Rajkumar for the upcoming Assembly elections which are less than one year away.

Rajkumar, who had made national headlines after he was charge-sheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in an alleged job scam related to the Bokaro steel plant, had accompanied his father to this meeting in Bhopal. Jatiya, who has been a Rajya Sabha member and Union minister, made these remarks in the meeting that was attended by, among others, national joint General Secretary Organization Shivprakash, CM Shivraj

Singh Chauhan, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Ajay Jamwal, regional general secretary (organization), state in-charge Murlidhar Rao and state president V.D. Sharma.

Significantly, Prime Minister Modi has this year, twice in quick succession, spoken out against pushing and promoting nepotism and dynasties in politics. In April this year, while addressing BJP workers on the party's foundation day, PM Modi said that "family parties" never allowed youths to progress. Similarly, in the election in five states that were held in March, many of the ticket probables, who were related to a sitting MLA or MP, were denied tickets by the party, based on the guidelines issued by the PM who has, in a reference to the Gandhi family, stated the "Parivar bhakti" was not good.