BJP drops Brij Bhushan, fields son Karan from Kaiserganj; Dinesh Singh to contest from Raebareli

Lucknow: The BJP on Thursday finally announced its candidates for the Kaiserganj and Raebareli Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.

In Kaiserganj, the BJP dropped sitting MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and gave the ticket to his son Karan Bhushan Singh.

A six-term MP, Brij Bhushan suffered a massive political setback due to the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him that saw some of the country's top women wrestlers hit the streets.

As per sources, Brij Bhushan had been taken into confidence by the party leaders about the development, and his son Karan was seen receiving congratulatory messages at his residence since Thursday morning.

Karan Bhushan is the youngest son of Brij Bhushan.

Born in 1990, Karan Bhushan is a national-level double-trap shooter. He holds a law degree besides doing a business management course in Australia. He will be making his debut in electoral politics this time.

In Raebareli, the BJP has fielded Dinesh Pratap Singh, without waiting for the Congress to name its nominee,

Dinesh Singh began his political career with the Congress and was once considered close to Sonia Gandhi switching sides to the BJP.

He was elected as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council thrice between 2010 and 2022, besides unsuccessfully contesting the Lok Sabha elections against Sonia Gandhi from Raebareli in 2019.