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After dropping sitting MP Brij Bhushan Singh from the Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat and going with his son Karan Bhushan Singh, the move from the Bharatiya Janata Party retains the seat's contest within the family highlighting the influence of the six-time Member of Parliament.
The 67-year-old BJP's strong man was not given a ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief has been accused of sexual harassment by six women wrestlers, who had protested against him for a long period last year. Earlier this month, a Delhi court ordered that charges be levied against him. Voting for the Kaiserganj seat will be done in the fifth phase on May 20. It comprises five Vidhan Sabha seats, including Payagpur, Kaiserganj, Katra Bazar, Colonelganj, and Tarabganj. Brij Bhushan Singh's son Karan Bhushan Singh is in the electoral fray against the Samajwadi Party's candidate Ram Bhagat Mishra, the elder brother of Shravasti zila panchayat president and former BJP MP from Shravasti, Daddan Mishra, while Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded Narendra Pandey. Karan, Singh's younger son, will look to keep the family's hold on the seat tight, with his father Brij Bhushan having won from there six times, while his mother Ketaki was also a former MP from Gonda. Brij Bhushan's elder son, Prateek, was also an MLA from the Gonda twice. In the 2019 election, Brij Bhusan Singh got 5,81,358 votes, beating BSP candidate 3,19,757. The Thakur leader said that his son, Karan Bhushan Singh has garnered significant support in Kaiserganj and nearby nearby districts. Before the announcement from the party, Brij Bhushan was confident that the BJP will give him a ticket again from the seat. He said that there are 99.9 per cent chances that he would contest the seat. "I am not a candidate right now. But the BJP has no contest on the Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat. Last time, victory was won by more than 2 lakh votes; this time, the workers have given a slogan of 5 lakh votes. If God has decided this, what can I do? But I am a strong contender, so I will contest 99.9 per cent, 0.1 per cent would remain." Apart from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh, Amethi, Lucknow, Mohanlalganj, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Jhansi, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambhi, Faizabad, Barabanki, Raebareli and Gonda will go to voting on May 20. (ANI)
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