The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday named candidates for the Rae Bareli and Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seats. The saffron party has fielded Dinesh Pratap Singh from Rae Bareli, and Brij Bhushan's son Karan Bhushan Singh from Kaiserganj.
This is the second consecutive time that BJP has fielded Dinesh Singh from the constituency, as he had contested from Raebareli in 2019 as well. Singh, however, lost the seat to Sonia Gandhi. But this time, the contest from the constituency is being termed as more crucial as the Congress is yet to announce their candidate from Raebareli, as Sonia Gandhi has shifted to the Rajya Sabha.
The filing of nominations for the Raebareli constituency will conclude on May 3. Raebareli holds significant political importance as it has been a traditional stronghold of the Congress party since 1960, with stalwarts like Feroze Gandhi and Indira Gandhi having represented the constituency in the past.
On the other hand, BJP has dropped Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh from Kaiserganj as he was accused of sexual harassment by women wrestlers, sources told India Today on Thursday. Now, the party has instead fielded his son Karan Bhushan from the constituency. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is the sitting MP from Kaiserganj.
Karan Bhushan Singh is currently the president of the Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association. Earlier, Karan was the senior vice president of the UP wrestling association.