'BJP in Amit Shah's grip': Congress reacts after saffron party replaces LK Advani with BJP chief in Gandhinagar

New Delhi: The Congress on Friday slammed the BJP for dropping party veteran LK Advani's name from its first list of Lok Sabha candidates. [caption id=“attachment_6308531” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Congress leader PL Punia. ANI[/caption] Speaking to ANI, Congress leader PL Punia said, “An outstanding Parliamentarian like LK Advani will be replaced by Taripar Amit Shah. Now, people are clear that BJP is only run by Amit Shah.” Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala also tweeted about Advani’s exclusion from the list, and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not caring for senior citizens. Notably, Advani, who contested the Lok Sabha elections from Gandhinagar seat for the first time in 1991, retained the constituency in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014. In the ensuing elections, BJP president Amit Shah will be contesting from Gandhinagar constituency. It was only once that Advani did not contest the elections in the year 1996 after his name found mentioned in the Jain Hawala Diary Case. The BJP on Thursday evening declared 184 candidates including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Amit Shah, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Textiles Minister Smriti Irani for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, beginning 11 April and concluding on 19 May. The counting of votes will take place on 23 May. With inputs from ANI