Will Brij Bhushan contest LS poll from UP’s Kaiserganj? Here’s what he said

Former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has said that there is a 99.9% chance that he will contest from Uttar Pradesh’s Kaiserganj constituency.
The controversial MP, who was accused of alleged sexual harassment by female wrestlers, said that he is not the contestant for now, but he would win the seat by a sweeping majority.
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“I am not a candidate right now. But the BJP has no contest on the Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat. Last time, I won the seat by more than 2 lakh votes. This time, the workers have given a slogan of 5 lakh votes,” the sitting MP from Kaiserganj was quoted in news agency ANI.
The incumbent MP said even if the BJP announced its candidate an hour before, there would not be any contest in Kaiserganj’s seat, where he is the sitting MP.
“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. Even if the party announced the candidate just an hour before, people would make me win,” he said.
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The saffron party has, however, not announced its candidate for the Kaiserganj seat.
Several female wrestlers, including the medallists, protested against the BJP leader and demanded his arrest over the charges of alleged sexual harassment while being the WFI president.
Wrestlers, including Sakhi Malik and Bajrang Punia, sat on a protracted protest at the Jantar Mantar demanding action against Bhushan. The Delhi Police later registered a case against Bhushan under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, on June 15, 2023. However, he was granted bail on July 20, 2023.
Bhushan, a six-time MP, also runs about 50 private educational centres in and around his political constituency. He was the president of the Wrestling Federation of India for nearly a decade.
The second of the seven-phase 18th Lok Sabha elections will take place on April 26. The first phase of the polling took place on April 19. The third phase of polling is scheduled on May 7, the fourth phase on May 13, the fifth on May 20, the sixth on May 25 and the last phase on June 1. The counting of votes will be held on June 4, as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Also Read: Will contest LS Polls if party permits: Brijendra Singh
Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat will vote on May 20 in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha election.
Brij Bhushan secured 5,81,358 votes in 2019. BSP’s Chandradev Ram Yadav got over 3.19 lakh votes while Congress candidate Vinay Kumar Pandey got 37,132 votes.
(With inputs from ANI)