Ready to contest 2029 Lok Sabha elections from Jhansi, says Uma Bharti

Bhopal, Oct 22 (PTI) Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti on Wednesday denied that she has been marginalised, and expressed her intention to contest the 2029 Lok Sabha elections from Jhansi.

"I am not even marginalised (to the smallest extent)...I have informed the party that I am ready to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2029. If the party wants me to contest, I will definitely contest....But I will contest only from Jhansi," she told reporters here.

Her main interest in politics lies in cow welfare and the Ganga river, said the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister, adding that she will launch a cow conservation campaign from October 29, the Gopashtami day as per Hindu calendar.

The campaign will run for one and a half years and involve farmers with the support of Gram Panchayats, Bharti further said.

The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh should provide two cows each to the women beneficiaries of its flagship Ladli Behna Yojana, she said, adding that it will make them self-sufficient.

The senior leader had recently stated on X that she will contest the 2029 elections from Jhansi if the party was willing.

Bharti had won from Jhansi in the 2014 parliamentary elections and was a Union minister till 2019. Anurag Sharma of the BJP has been the present MP from the constituency for two consecutive terms.

Bharti, meanwhile, advocated 'One Nation, One Election', saying it would remove obstacles in the way of development.

"My wish is that the Lok Sabha, Assembly, Municipal Council, Municipal Corporation and Nagar Panchayat elections should all be completed within 45 days," she said.

Asked about Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's objection to Lord Krishna being called 'Gopal', she said Yadav was a little "naive", and politicians should desist from speaking on such matters. Lord Krishna was named `Gopal' thousands of years ago and the name is on everyone's lips, she said.

"That's why I always tell all politicians not to become experts on the scriptures. No one should become one....I should not be one either," Bharti said.

"....And `Mohan' is `Gopal', in a way. He is a person who speaks easily. He is a very simple person. It is the job of those who understand religion to know who calls God by what name," she said.

Chief Minister Yadav had recently said during a Govardhan Puja ceremony that some people mistakenly call Lord Krishna `Gopal'. Anybody who rears a cow is `Gopal', he had said.

"Leave it to the saints. Whether Lord Krishna is `Gopal' or `Makhan-chor' is a matter of personal devotion," Bharti said, adding, "I think our chief minister Mohan Yadav is a bit naive." PTI BNS MAS KRK