A defiant former president of the Wrestling Federation of India and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Brij Bhushan Singh is set to hold a large rally in his Kaiserganj parliamentary constituency on June 11 despite growing opposition against him in the country and abroad after allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against him by wrestlers.

Singh’s supporters claim that the rally is being organised on the instructions of the national leadership of the BJP.

Singh is currently facing allegations of sexual exploitation involving women wrestlers at the national and international levels. The Delhi Police are currently investigating these cases, while the khap panchayats in North India have issued an ultimatum for his arrest by June 9.

Recently, the administration did not grant permission for Singh’s rally in Ayodhya on June 5. Local MP and a significant portion of the BJP organisation had already opposed the programme internally, fearing it would impact political equations in the area.

The BJP leadership has directed every MP to organise large-scale programmes in their respective areas to showcase the achievements of the Narendra Modi government over the past nine years. “This rally will be organised in response to party’s directives in Kaiserganj on behalf of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the local MP,” said Mahendra Verma, a supporter of Singh.

Singh and his family hold sway in this region is evident from the fact that Brij Bhushan’s son, Karan Bhushan, supported an independent who defeated a BJP candidate in the election of chairperson of the Nawabganj municipal council in Gonda. Among the three municipal councils, only in Kaiserganj did the BJP’s chairperson candidate emerge victorious.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been emphasising his influence on the local public and his good relations with the BJP high command. He publicly stated that he was consulted by the high command before ticket distribution for the Devipatan division in the 2017 elections. In 2014, he expressed his desire to retire from politics but Home Minister Amit Shah dissuaded him from doing so.

The situation has changed now. The BJP is currently assessing the potential advantages and disadvantages of supporting Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The party’s high command has reportedly instructed party office-bearers not to make any statements to the media on Brij Bhushan’s matter.

Meanwhile, in contrast to the opposition from khap panchayats, prominent saints from Ayodhya have come out in support of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Mahant Prem Das of Hanuman Garhi said that the allegations against Singh were under investigation and only the investigating agency could determine the truth.

He believes that Singh aimed to promote wrestlers from Uttar Pradesh, which may have prompted wrestlers from other states to oppose him.