BJP has persuaded controversial incumbent in Kaiserganj, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, to yield in favour of his younger son, Karan, while also announcing the candidature of UP minister Dinesh Pratap Singh from the Nehru-Gandhi family stronghold of Rae Bareli.
By sidelining Brij Bhushan, former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief who has been accused of sexual harassment by woman wrestlers, BJP has sought to neutralise the charge that it was soft on the six-time MP who enjoys considerable clout in the area.
Although the leadership had made plain its intent by withholding the candidature for the seat, Brij Bhushan did not give up hope and had already started campaigning by taking out roadshows.
Apart from winning Kaiserganj three times in a row (2009, 2014 and 2019), Brij Bhushan has won from neighbouring constituencies Gonda (1991 and 1999) and Balrampur (2004). His wife, Ketaki, one of the options considered by BJP, had won from Gonda in 1996 while his son Prateek is an MLA.
Brij Bhushan exerts clout through nearly 54 educational institutions he owns or is closely associated with. These institutes situated on both sides of a roughly 100 km stretch of the Ayodhya-Gonda highway connecting four districts - Gonda, Balrampur, Bahraich and Shravasti.
In Rae Bareli, this is the second time that Dinesh Singh, a former Congressman who used to be a confidant of the Gandhis, will be contesting. In 2019, he contested against Sonia Gandhi but lost by over 170,000 votes.
The contest has taken a turn with Sonia opting out of Lok Sabha polls and taking the Rajya Sabha route to Parliament from Rajasthan. BJP, according to sources, is banking on Dinesh Singh’s connect with grassroots functionaries, especially at the village and block level.
Sources said he has already hit the ground and has been holding meetings with different sections for the past many days. Even the local BJP organisational cadre had been pressing for his name.
