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After being released from the Bareilly jail after the Allahabad High Court granted bail to former MP Dhananjay Singh bail in a 2020 kidnapping and extortion case, Singh said that he would now campaign for his wife Shrikala Singh, who is contesting from Jaunpur on a BSP ticket, so that she emerges victorious in the elections.
After being released, Dhananjay Singh while speaking with the reporters said, "A fake case was registered against me in 2020. There was a case of corruption in Namami Gange... I will go directly to my region Jaunpur. My best wishes to her (his wife) that she contests and wins the elections..." A two-time MLA, Singh had won the Jaunpur Lok Sabha seat in 2009 on a BSP ticket. However he isn't in the fray this time as on April 27, the Allahabad High Court had refused to postpone the seven-year sentence given to him by the Jaunpur Special Court in the kidnapping case of Namami Gange Project Manager, Abhinav Singhal. Due to the non-stay of sentence, Dhananjay Singh will not be able to contest the Lok Sabha elections. He has been sentenced to 7 years in prison for demanding extortion. He was lodged in Jaunpur jail since the announcement of the sentence. He was later transferred to Bareilly jail. However, the court accepted his application to release him on bail in this case. It is interesting to note that Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), in its list of candidates, chose Shrikala Singh, wife of Dhananjay Singh, to run for the elections from the Jaunpur constituency. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Jaunpur seat went to Bahujan Samaj Party. BSP candidate Shyam Singh Yadav, who contested the election under the SP-BSP alliance, had won this seat. Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Kripa Shankar Singh, who was active in Maharashtra politics, from Jaunpur. At the same time, Samajwadi Party has made the contest exciting by fielding Babu Singh Kushwaha. (ANI)
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