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In a major blow to the Rashtriya Lok Dal’s (RLD) its national spokesperson Chaudhary Rohit Jakhar has resigned from the party and all posts citing the decision to field Karan Bhushan Singh, youngest son of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Kaiserganj.
Jakhar in his letter to National Democratic Alliance ( NDA) ally and RLD President Jayant Singh Chaudhary, has said that giving a ticket to the son of a person who is accused of sexually harassing women wrestlers is shameful. Jakhar is the state president of the Rashtriya Jat Mahasangh, state President of Suraj Mal Foundation and also the Vice President of the Yuva Jat Mahasabha.
According to Jakhar, the BJP waited for the election in western Uttar Pradesh to be over before deciding to reward Brij Bhushan’s son with a Lok Sabha ticket. This he wrote, “must have brought joy to the father. I do not see much reason to remain in a party which has lost its utility and therefore resign with a heavy heart.
“However, I will continue the fight for social justice and will remain forever grateful for the respect and love that I received from you.” Jakhar has “requested forgiveness” if his step has hurt anyone’s feelings.
In a tweet on X he has stated: “BJP’s generosity towards the accused who sexually exploited our daughters is compromising the honor of the community which is not possible even in politics.
“As soon as elections were over in Western Uttar Pradesh BJP provided the ticket to the son of the accused who sexually exploited our daughters, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. A son’s promotion brings happiness to the father. Is this any punitive action against the accused?”
Jakhar further elaborated on other reasons for his resignation: “The accused of sexually harassing and dishonoring our daughters has been bestowed with respect and despite taking an oath on the Constitution BJP continues to deceive Jats on the issue of reservation.
“The matter which had been decided upon before suspending the Farmers agitation remains unfulfilled… I have decided to quit to highlight the distress of farmers, unemployment of youth, to remember the martyrdom of 700 farmers, for justice of those massacred in Lakhim Kheri, and the honour of the women wrestlers.”
Meanwhile, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was conspicuous by his absence during the nomination of his youngest son at Gonda Collectorate on Friday. He was, however, seen earlier in the day supervising the preparations for the nomination and even during the puja at a Gonda Mandir on the way to filing Karan’s nomination. He chose to remain away from the cameras at the time of nomination.
Reacting to the BJP’s decision to field his son from Kaiserganj, the very last seat along with Rae Bareli to decide candidates, Brij Bhushan said, “The whole region is ecstatic and I thank the party for this.”
Twenty-eight-year-old Karan, the youngest of Brij Bhushan’s three sons had also succeeded him as the President of the UP Wrestling Association in February this year causing all-round protests.
Denying the ticket to the Thakur leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, strongman turned politician, would have impacted the saffron party’s fortune in Kaiserganj as well as adjoining seats of Shravasti, Basti and Ayodhya. A hostile Brij Bhushan was planning to contest as an independent in case the BJP denied him or his family a ticket.
He is a six time MP, five times from the BJP and once in 2009 on a Samajwadi party ticket.
He was the President of the Wrestling Federation of India from 2011 to 2023. He is currently at the centre of the accusation of sexual harassment by India’s top women wrestlers in which seven wrestlers including a minor have testified against him in an FIR.
The women wrestlers had staged a dharna at the Jantar Mantar demanding action against him, bringing the issue much attention and causing national and international outcry.
An influential Rajput politician, Brij Bhushan is believed to be the bete noire of another Thakur leader, Chief Minister Adityanath. He has established around 50 educational institutions imparting teaching in engineering, pharmacy, education, law and other courses in Bahraich, Gonda, Balrampur, Ayodhya and Shravasti districts.
