Kaiserganj Lok Sabha Election: Can Brij Bhushan Singh’s son Karan Bhushan Singh retain this seat for BJP?

Uttar Pradesh’s Kaiserganj Lok Sabha constituency, one of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state, is gearing up for the May 20 polls under the fifth phase. The seat represents a mix of urban and rural population spread across five segments of Vidhan Sabha: Payagpur, Kaiserganj, Katra Bazar, Colonelganj and Tarabganj.

For the last three decades, the Kaiserganj seat remained contested between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). From 1996 to 2009, the seat was a Samajwadi Party stronghold. In 2009, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh won from here on an SP ticket. However, he later switched to BJP and won twice in 2014 and 2019.

Singh, who was president of the Wrestling Federation of India for a decade, is currently in the eye of the storm after six female wrestlers accused him of sexual harassment, leading to the cancellation of his ticket.

Now, amid allegations of sexual harassment, the BJP has nominated his son, Karan Bhushan Singh. This marks Karan Singh’s debut in electoral politics.

Voting date

The Kaiserganj Lok Sabha constituency will vote on May 20 in the fifth phase of the general elections. Votes will be counted on June 4.

List of candidates

With Brij Bhushan Singh’s son Karan Bhushan Singh in the fray, the SP nominated Bhagat Ram Mishra, the elder brother of former BJP MP Daddan Mishra.

This development added an intriguing dimension to the battle. Meanwhile, the BSP fielded Brahmin candidate Narendra Pandey, given that Kaiserganj has a 30% Brahmin community.

In the 2019 elections, Brij Bhusan Singh of the BJP won for the third consecutive term. He defeated BSP’s Chandradev Ram Yadav by a margin of 2.6 lakh votes.