In Kaiserganj, Brij Bhushan Singh is ahead while voters remain unfazed by the sexual harassment allegations against him

Brij Bhushan, who is considered a ‘dabang’ (muscle man), is so popular in this constituency that there are not many people willing to speak out against him, even if they are his rivals.

And it is no surprise at all that Brijbhushan is perhaps the only BJP candidate, not just in the state but in the country, who has openly criticized UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. “My leader is Narendra Modi… no one else,” he had said recently.

He also skipped Yogi Adityanath’s election rally in Kaiserganj that took place a few days ago. “I don’t support bulldozer politics,” he said at his election rallies, showing his open opposition to Adityanath.

Brij Bhushan also makes no secret of his love for Muslims, who make up around 24 percent of voters in the constituency. “I visit Muslim houses on their festivals… I don’t believe in Hindu-Muslim politics.”

Brijbhushan may not be a candidate this time, but he has a lot at stake. A loss here could prove politically fatal for the former WFI chief, against whom the Delhi Police has already filed a chargesheet in the court in connection with the sexual assault case.

Singh turned it into a prestige fight. “Singh knows that his indispensability to the BJP is due to his perceived invincibility in Kaiserganj,” said a Gonda-based journalist.

It was easy to understand that Singh was indispensable to the BJP when the saffron party failed to take action against him despite harsh criticism from various quarters following the allegations against him.

Singh, who has his own support base in Gonda, Baharaich, Balrampur, Shravasti and Ayodhya districts, is not dependent on the party winning elections, nor is he making any attempt to hide it.

Singh, who is currently the MP from Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat in Baharaich district, had earlier also represented Balrampur and Gonda LS seats. He had also got his wife Ketki Singh elected to the Lok Sabha when he was in prison under TADA in 1996. His son Prateek Vardhan Singh is also an MLA.

Singh won from here in 2014 with 72,000 votes. In 2019, he beat his rival by over 2.6 million votes.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) has fielded Brahmin Bhagat Ram Mishra, apparently hoping to get the support of the community, which has a strong presence here.

BSP has also fielded a Brahmin, Narendra Pandey, but he does not seem to be in contention. “The fight is between BJP and SP. The BSP will retain its traditional Dalit votes,” said a local scribe.

Interestingly, there are only four candidates in the fray including the BJP, SP, BSP candidates and an Independent.

It will be interesting to see whether Singh manages to get his rivals on the ballot. The seat would be voted on in the fifth phase of voting on Monday.