Lok Sabha election: After women wrestlers' protests, BJP drops 6-time MP Brij Bhushan Singh from UP’s Kaiserganj; fields his son

UP minister and Legislative Council Member Dinesh Pratap Singh named candidate from Rae Bareli

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Tribune file

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, May 2

After much dilly dallying, the ruling BJP on Thursday dropped its powerful Kaiserganj MP and former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh fielding his son Karan from the Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

Gonda-born Brij Bhushan, 67, is a six-term MP and commands tremendous political clout in the area.

He faced allegations of sexual harassment at the hands of star Indian women wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik.

Singh, who wanted to contest himself, was finally convinced by the BJP to step down in favour of his son.

On the ground, though, nothing changes for Brij Bhushan as his family retains the ticket notwithstanding the pressure from women wrestlers who had earlier forced him to step down as WFI chief, only to see his close aide take over.

In the political landscape, too, Brij Bhushan will continue to call the shots with the son in the fray.

Singh has been a member of the 10th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16 and 17th Lok Sabhas and both an SP and independent MP.

He was a wrestler before entering politics through the 1990s Ram Janmabhoomi movement.

Over the years, he had developed a support base in Gonda, Bahraich, Balrampur, Shravasti, and Ayodhya. Singh has represented Balrampur and Gonda also in the Lok Sabha in the past.

While Karan Bhushan will contest Kaiserganj parliamentary seat, Brij Bhushan’s other son Prateek Bhushan Singh is already a sitting MLA from Gonda in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly.

From Rae Bareli, the BJP has fielded Uttar Pradesh minister and Legislative Council Member Dinesh Pratap Singh. Singh had lost the 2019 Lok Sabha poll from the seat to then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who has since moved to the Rajya Sabha.

The Congress is yet to name a candidate in Rae Bareli.

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