Indore, January 26: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today took a dig at the Congress over the entry of Priyanka Gandhi in politics. Senior party leader Kailash Vijayvargiya on Saturday said that the grand old party is fielding "chocolaty" faces in Lok Sabha polls it has a shortage of strong leaders. Vijayvargiya during his media interaction in Indore, told reporters, “A Congress leader demands that Kareena Kapoor should be fielded from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat. Sometimes others talk about fielding Salman Khan from Indore. Likewise, Priyanka (Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) was also brought into active politics.” Priyanka Gandhi May Begin Political Innings with Kumbh Holy Dip.

Taking a swipe on Rahul Gandhi, he said, “Priyanka would not have been brought into active politics if there was confidence within the Congress on (party chief) Rahul's leadership.” Vijayvargiya’s comment comes just a day after senior BJP leader and Bihar Minister Vinod Narain Jha stirred a controversy by saying that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has no other quality except being "very beautiful" and the Congress should remember that beauty does not garner votes. However, when confronted by the media, Jha said that he had not said anything wrong and also refused to apologise.

It is not the first time that a BJP leader has made a sexist remark against Priyanka Gandhi. In 2017, just before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, BJP leader Vinay Katiyar had made a similar remark. When asked about Priyanka Gandhi being a star campaigner for the Congress, Katiyar had said, “What star campaigner? No, I don’t think that’s a factor. There are so many other more beautiful female campaigners. There are heroines. So many others more beautiful.” He had also said that the BJP had more pretty faces than Priyanka Gandhi.

Meanwhile, yesterday Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath aid Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's entry into active politics would not have any impact on the outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as "zero plus zero results in zero". Earlier this week, Priyanka was appointed as Congress General Secretary for Eastern Uttar Pradesh. According to reports, she is likely to begin her formal political career after taking a holy dip in the Ganga at the Kumbh Mela on February 4.

(With inputs from PTI)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 26, 2019 09:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).