Kolkata: On Tuesday, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party for “insulting” veteran BJP leader LK Advani by not making him a candidate from his Gandhinagar constituency. Banerjee said that Advani was “one of the pillars” of the saffron party and said that the party had “insulted” him by leaving him out of his candidate list. The Trinamool Congress chief also said that political parties should not ignore their senior leaders. Speaking to reporters at the state secretariat, Banerjee said, “(Atal Bihari) Vajpayee-ji, Advani-ji were the pillars of the BJP. Advani-ji is a senior man. And now how he has been left out. This is of course an insult to Advani-ji.”

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Here it is to be noted that 91-year-old LK Advani has represented the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency for six times in the past. However, for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP replaced Advani with party chief Amit Shah. Speaking to reporters, Banerjee, who is a vocal critic of PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Shah, said, "I'm feeling sad for him (Advani). This may be his last chance. Advani-ji was actually their mentor. But when there is no need, they (senior leaders) are forgotten. But old is always gold. This is my personal feeling”.

However, she said that she might talk to Advani to convey her feelings, news agency PTI reported. The West Bengal CM also added that she was feeling sad for the widow of late Union Minister Ananth Kumar who was left out by the BJP from contesting the crucial Bengaluru South Lok Sabha seat. Banerjee said, “I worked under Advani-ji and Vajpayee-ji when I was in the NDA. I worked with Anant Kumar-ji when I was a central minister. This is my personal feeling. We have to give the youth, women and (people from) all the castes and communities (chances). But senior leaders cannot be ignored.” She also stated that elderly leaders such as former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) veteran HD Deve Gowda and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah were contesting the polls this year.

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