Will contest Lok Sabha election: Veteran BJP leader LK Advani

New Delhi – Veteran BJP leader LK Advani on Sunday said he will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, putting an end to speculation that he could be moved to the Rajya Sabha. The delay in the announcement of the BJP’s list of Rajya Sabha candidates gave rise to a buzz that the RSS was toying with the idea of pushing some of the veterans to the Upper House. The 86-year-old leader told journalists at his residence that he would think about it if somebody had given him the offer of contesting for a Rajya Sabha seat. He said if he had to consider fighting for an Upper House seat, he would have done it much earlier. Advani represents Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency in Gujarat.

The former deputy prime minister also backed President Pranab Mukherjee over the latter’s indirect dig at the Aam Aadmi Party’s recent dharna in his speech on the eve of the Republic Day. He said it was “significant” that the president spoke against “populist anarchy” in his address to the nation. Advani also agreed with the president’s apprehension over a fractured mandate in the upcoming polls and hoped that the country would get a stable government taking over after the elections.