Ending weeks of speculation, the BJP on Thursday denied ticket to sitting MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who has been embroiled in a sexual harassment controversy and fielded his son Karan Bhushan Singh from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh.
For the first time since 2009, the BJP dropped its heavyweight leader and sitting MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh from Kaiserganj.
The former president of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) is currently facing allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by six women wrestlers. Karan is likely to file his nomination on May 3. The move retains the seat's contest within the family highlighting the influence of the Thakur leader and six-time MP in the region and the party.
The party also named Dinesh Pratap Singh as its candidate from Raebareli, a Gandhi family bastion which has been won by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi for five consecutive times. Sonia, who won from the Gandhi family bastion five consecutive times, was elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed from Rajasthan earlier this year. The deadline to file nominations for Amethi and Rae Bareli is on Friday. These seats are going to polls in the fifth phase, on May 20.
Karan Bhushan is the youngest son of Brij Bhushan. Born in 1990, Karan is presently the president of the Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association. Previously, Karan was the senior vice president of the UP wrestling association. Karan Bhushan is a national-level double-trap shooter. He holds a law degree besides doing a business management course in Australia. He will be making his debut in electoral politics this time.
Days after Karan's election, Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik had threatened protests, claiming the government had promised that Brij Bhushan or his relatives or associates would not govern the sport.
Karan is also the president of the Cooperative Village Development Bank in Nawabganj, Gonda. Polling will be held in Kaiserganj in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 20. Earlier, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh blamed the media for the delay in the announcement of his name as the BJP candidate for the seat.
Interestingly, Brij Bhushan has already began his campaign in Kaiserganj on April 8 with a road show even though the party has not declared his candidature. He was found appealing to voters to fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of 'Abki Baar, 400 Paar'.
The president of the Wrestling Federation of India for over a decade, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh hit the headlines in 2023, when the country's top wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik, accused him of sexually harassing women wrestlers and staged a massive protest in the national Capital.
