Lok Sabha polls: BJP drops Brij Bhushan Singh from UP’s Kaiserganj, gives ticket to his son

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday dropped sitting Kaiserganj MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment by women wrestlers and gave a ticket to his son, Karan Bhushan Singh.

Karan Bhushan, Brij Bhushan’s younger son, is the president of the Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association. He is also the chairperson of the Cooperative Bank in Nawabganj in Gonda district.

After the announcement, Karan Bhushan Singh extended his gratitude to the BJP for the ticket.

“I am grateful to the people of Kaiserganj. I extend my gratitude to the BJP for making me a candidate… I will file my nomination tomorrow…” said.

There was much suspense on Braj Bhushan’s seat this time as the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief, who is also a six-term MP, had been accused by some of the country’s celebrated wrestlers of sexual harassment.

Several female wrestlers, including medallists, protested against the BJP leader and demanded his arrest over the charges of alleged sexual harassment while being the WFI president.

Wrestlers, including Sakhi Malik and Bajrang Punia, sat on a protracted protest at the Jantar Mantar demanding action against Bhushan. The Delhi Police later registered a case against Bhushan under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, on June 15, 2023. However, he was granted bail on July 20, 2023.

Bhushan, a six-time MP, also runs about 50 private educational centres in and around his political constituency. He was the president of the Wrestling Federation of India for nearly a decade.

Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat will vote on May 20 in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election.

In 2019, Brij Bhushan secured 5,81,358 votes. BSP’s Chandradev Ram Yadav got over 3.19 lakh votes while Congress candidate Vinay Kumar Pandey got 37,132 votes.