As Sushma Swaraj’s daughter rises, BJP flags ‘winnability’ as Oppn raises ‘parivarvaad’ storm

The BJP has found itself at the receiving end of stinging criticism from the Opposition after it declared Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of former Union minister late Sushma Swaraj, as its candidate from the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat.

The Opposition has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not walking the talk on the “parivarvaad (dynastic politics)” issue — which he has often used against the BJP’s rivals — prompting the BJP to say that Bansuri’s candidature was decided on “winnability”.

Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj described Bansuri’s nomination as a “living example of parivarvaad”, and questioned the BJP’s attacks on the Opposition despite choosing her over sitting MP and Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture Meenakshi Lekhi.

“The BJP has been making tall statements against parivarvaad. Today, if Sushma Swaraj ji’s daughter is being given a ticket, it is a living example of parivarvaad. We too have high regard for Sushma ji but are other parties, which are giving tickets to the kin of leaders who are no more, not eligible for such respect? This shows that there is a huge gap between what the BJP says and does,” Bharadwaj said.

The Congress too hit out at the BJP. “Why is Bansuri Swaraj given a ticket from Delhi? What is her contribution other than Parivarvaad @narendramodi! Don’t point fingers at us!” party spokesperson Shama Mohamed said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

Why is Bansuri Swaraj given a ticket from Delhi? What is her contribution other than Parivarvaad <a href=«https://twitter.com/narendramodi?ref_src=» https: class="" rel=«nofollow, noopener» target="_blank">@narendramodi

— Dr. Shama Mohamed (@drshamamohd) <a