Despite more and more voices joining the chorus demanding action against him, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh continues to claim innocence, blaming political vendetta behind the sexual harassment cases. The website of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) at the time of writing still depicts him as the “President & M.P Loksabha (2019)”.
What makes the 66-year-old politician appear formidable? Those who have witnessed his trajectory attribute it to his political acumen, connections, and a strong resolve.
According to a senior journalist, Singh is the go-to man in the region. No work can be carried out without his cognizance, claimed the scribe, adding that Singh has set up dozens of educational institutions in the area, endearing him to the populace. His brawn adds to the social work. It is said that at some point, Singh was named in about three dozen criminal cases. However, according to details submitted in his affidavit before the 2019 Polls, there were four FIRs among pending criminal cases, with no conviction in any till then. Most of the cases were pertaining to carrying arms or rioting, with one charge related to attempt to murder.
“He is a self-made leader in politics where he is himself the vote-catcher,” stated the journalist, who requested anonymity. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he secured over 59 per cent of the total votes polled in Kaiserganj. Incidentally, as per 2011 Census, more than a quarter of the population here are Muslim, while Scheduled Caste comprise about 14 per cent. Brahmins play a decisive role in polls comprising some 27 per cent of the electorate.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament wields a strong clout in eastern Uttar Pradesh, especially among his clan – Thakurs. Singh’s influence has grown with the turn of the century, mainly in the districts of Bahraich and Gonda, and parts of Shravasti and Balrampur as well. He is today said to enjoy considerable sway in at least half-a-dozen Parliamentary seats.
Brij Bhushan Singh's Political Career
He won his first election from Gonda as a 34-year-old in 1991 and then in 1999. In 2004, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Balrampur. Four years later, he quit the BJP and joined the Samajwadi Party (SP). He won the Kaiserganj seat for the SP in 2009. But ahead of the 2014 Parliamentary election, he returned to the BJP and won the same seat again.
The six-time MP himself has repeatedly dismissed all charges by women grapplers, including a minor. But certain turn of events this month point to a hole in the air of invincibility he carried.
In a recent development that may be perceived as a "blinking" in this eye-to-eye confrontation, Singh decided to postpone a “grand rally” he had planned in Ayodhya on Monday (June 5). In a written statement that he posted on social media, he cited “safety reasons” for the afterthought.
Apart from several Thakurs who openly pledged support for Singh, heads of some religious organisations in Ayodhya had also come out in his favour. He won over a section of the sadhus through the stir for a Ram Temple and subsequent religious services.
Singh dabbled in politics as a student but earned recognition when he offered to steer Advani’s Rath when the senior leader came to Gonda during the Ayodhya movement.
In 1992, he was named as an accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case which consolidated his hardcore Hindu image. He was acquitted along with others in 2020.
The wrestling enthusiast is no stranger to controversies
In 1993, he was allegedly involved in a gunfight, but a Gonda court acquitted him in December last year. He was also accused of attempting to murder a former minister who was once a friend.
In December 2021, Singh slapped a wrestler in full view during an event in Ranchi. During the 2022 UP Assembly polls, he openly admitted in front of the camera that he had committed a murder.
In 2004, Singh’s son Shakti reportedly shot himself. He was 22. He allegedly blamed his father in a note for being selfish, alleging that he did not look after him or his siblings.
Female wrestlers grappling with Bhushan's sexual harassment behaviour
In the latest case involving grapplers, some claim that he was confident of his position when no top-rung leader in BJP initiated action, not even uttered a word of disapproval. That made him bolder. But reportedly his statement that he will resign as an MP if Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah asks him to step down, did not go well with the party. It seemed like he was passing the ball to the highest level of leadership.
And murmurs of discontent started surfacing. BJP's Maharashtra MP Pritam Munde reportedly said that cognisance should be taken if such complaints of misbehaviour come from women.
Also, Haryana BJP MP Brijendra Singh had termed the protesting wrestlers’ decision to immerse their medals in the Ganga as “heart-breaking”. They were stopped at the last moment on the intervention of farmer union leader Naresh Tikait.
That is yet another worry for the BJP where the confrontation has been projected as “Thakur versus Jat”, since many of the wrestlers are from the latter caste. With Parliamentary elections slated for next year, the calculators are out to find a fallout in Uttar Pradesh (total 80 Lok Sabha seats) and adjoining Haryana (altogether 10 Lok Sabha constituencies).
Not too long ago, it seemed Singh could sigh in relief when the protesting wrestlers decided to suspend their stir following assurances. But now they are back on the street and have no qualms of accepting political support which they had strongly kept at bay earlier. Though the presence of opposition leaders and farmers’ union representatives have raised some eyebrows in certain quarters, the plight of medal-winners on the streets of the National Capital has drawn sympathy.
Thus, it will be the results thrown up by the calculators in view of the forthcoming elections next year that will determine the fate of the don from Uttar Pradesh, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
