LUCKNOW: After his relentless defiance against his own party, is it all over for Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi in BJP? Highly placed sources in the party have revealed to TOI that BJP has spotted a popular party leader - an MLA from the district - as possible replacement for Varun in 2024 Lok Sabha elections.Highly placed sources in BJP said the MLA, from the OBC community, is a two-time legislator and is said to have been enjoying a good reputation within the party organization and the Yogi Adityanath government.

In 2012 assembly polls, he contested on a BSP ticket but lost to the SP candidate by a slender margin of around 4,000 votes.BJP annoyed as Varun didn’t attend ‘Mahasampark AbhiyanThe significant development comes against the backdrop of BJP’s annoyance after Varun kept himself away from the recently organized 'Mahasampark Abhiyan’ marking completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi government.

A senior BJP functionary in Pilibhit affirmed that the MP stopped participating in partyrelated events since 2021 and instead chose to organize his separate programmes.“We have been asked to step up the organizational work in the district.

We are only waiting for a formal announcement from the party high command about the candidate for 2024 national general elections,” said a senior BJP functionary in Pilibhit.

Nevertheless, Varun has been aggressively grooming his constituency amid whirling speculations about his future political forays.

On June 29, Varun presided over a ceremony to dedicate local civic projects funded by his MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) fund.

He later tweeted a photograph of the event with a caption: “Apno ke saath, Vijay ke sankalp ke saath, Vijay ki oar…” Varun could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Varun turned as a dissenter while speaking in favor of the farmers protesting against the three farm laws.

He, in fact, posted a 1980 video clip of former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee who can be heard warning the then Indira Gandhi government against repressing the farmers.

“Wise words from a big-hearted leader…,” he had tweeted.

In October 2021, he openly condemned the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which a convoy of Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni allegedly ran over protesting farmers, killing four.

Soon, the BJP leadership dropped Varun and his mother Maneka Gandhi, an MP from Sultanpur, from the 80 member national executive.