Murli Manohar Joshi to seek re-election from Kanpur

Lucknow, Jan 23 (IANS) Former BJP President Murli Manohar Joshi, 85, is readying to again contest the Lok Sabha election from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Sources close to Joshi, elected to the Lok Sabha from Kanpur in 2014 after vacating his Varanasi seat for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, told IANS that he had made his desire known to his supporters.

While a final decision will be taken by the party high command, Joshi, who was President of the BJP in 1991-93 and the Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, is not ready to hang his boots.

A 'report card' prepared by his supporters details the works undertaken by him in his parliamentary constituency. This will be distributed to voters in the form of a booklet soon.

"Kanpur is much better under Joshiji... There is a seven-day air connectivity now, Rs 400 crore expansion plan for the airport has been rolled out, nine power sub-stations at a cost of Rs 460 crore have been constructed, Rs 2,600 crore has been sanctioned for the development of leather clusters, the GSVM Medical College will be upgraded," a BJP leader said.

A Minister in the Yogi Adityanath government in the state, Satyadev Pachauri has also endorsed the candidature of Joshi as the party candidate for the Lok Sabha polls.

"In politics, age cannot be a bar. Performance is and it is for all to see what Joshi has done for Kanpur," he told IANS, describing Joshi as a "man with a vision".

Former Kanpur Mayor Jagatveer Singh Dron has also thrown his weight behind Joshi.

Joshi, a retired professor, was not available for comment.

The BJP won 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2014, a feat many here feel is very tough to be repeated.