BJP replaces Brij Bhushan with his son as its candidate from Kaiserganj LS seat

New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday replaced its controversial Kaiserganj MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, accused of sexually harassing women wrestlers as then head of the Wrestling Federation of India, with his son Karan Bhushan Singh. The party named Uttar Pradesh minister Dinesh Pratap Singh for Rae Bareli, the Gandhi family bastion.

According to sources, Brij Bhushan Singh was adamant about contesting the polls but relented after a senior BJP leader called him on Wednesday and conveyed that the decision to replace him had been taken.

Early last year, the country's top wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshee Malikkh, accused him of sexually harassing women wrestlers and staged protests against him in the national capital.

Though Brij Bhushan Singh stepped down amid a raging protest against him over the allegations, he has denied the charges against him. The Delhi Police has filed a chargesheet against him in court.

He runs runs a large number of educational institutions in Gonda and neighbouring districts and is seen by his admirers as a benefactor to his constituents, something that has built him a strong support base.

Before Kaiserganj, Brij Bhushan Singh had also represented Gonda constituency twice and Balrampur in Parliament.

In Rae Bareli, which was won by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi five times, the BJP has named its Uttar Pradesh minister as the party's candidate. Dinesh Pratap Singh had unsuccessfully challenged Mrs Gandhi in the 2019 general election.

After his name was announced, Dinesh Pratap Singh sounded confident that the BJP will wrest the seat from the “nakli Gandhis” and claimed that no matter which Gandhi family member contests, “Lotus will bloom” in Rae Bareli.

Kaiserganj and Rae Bareli will go to the polls on May 20, the fifth phase of polling in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The last date for filing nominations is May 3.