Despite the mounting pressure during the wrestlers' protest, Brij Bhushan remained determined to contest the seat.The BJP has dropped its incumbent Kaiserganj MP, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, amid allegations of sexual harassment raised by women wrestlers. In an announcement made this afternoon, the party said his son, Karan Bhushan Singh, will fight the election from this seat. Sources reveal that the decision was made following discussions between the BJP leadership and both Brij Bhushan and his son.
Karan Bhushan Singh is the president of the Uttar Pradesh wrestling association, while Brij Bhushan‘s elder son Pratik Bhushan Singh is an MLA. Voting in Kaiserganj is scheduled for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 20. The last date to file nominations is May 3.
Brij Bhushan, a six-term MP and the former president of the Wrestling Federation of India for nearly a decade, faced accusations of sexual harassment from six women wrestlers. The allegations sparked massive protests from prominent Indian wrestlers like Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Subsequently, the Delhi Police registered a case against Brij Bhushan in June 2023. He was granted bail on July 20, 2023, with a Delhi court yet to decide on framing charges against the six-term BJP MP.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Brij Bhushan won Kaiserganj by a margin of two lakh votes. He expressed confidence in the BJP’s stronghold in the seat. “Last time, I won the seat by more than 2 lakh votes. This time, the workers have given a call for 5 lakh votes,” he said.
Despite the mounting pressure during the wrestlers’ protest, Brij Bhushan remained determined to contest the seat. “Kaiserganj se chunav ladunga, ladunga, ladunga (Will contest election from Kaiserganj),” the BJP MP had said then.
Singh even launched his election campaign last month and held roadshows across Kaiserganj, but BJP leaders refrained from participation, citing lack of directives from the party leadership regarding Singh’s candidacy. They also expressed concern over Singh’s premature launch of his election campaign.
A senior state BJP official said that Singh’s outspoken nature, even if at odds with the party or the state government, posed a challenge. Earlier, he openly criticised the Yogi Adityanath-led government when floods had hit several eastern and central districts in the state, including Gonda, Baharaich, Ayodhya and some other districts.
The BJP leadership is aware of Singh’s influence across Gonda, Bahraich, Balrampur, Shravasti, and Ayodhya districts. Singh has represented Balrampur and Gonda Lok Sabha seats in the past. He got his wife Ketki Singh elected to Lok Sabha when he was in jail under TADA in 1996 and his son Prateek Vardhan Singh is also an MLA.