Dhananjay Singh, former Jaunpur MP. File pic/PTI
An area court docket in Jaunpur on Wednesday sentenced the previous MP to seven years of imprisonment apart from a penalty of Rs 50,000 in a case of kidnapping a UP Jal Nigam venture supervisor. After Dhananjay Singh’s conviction and jail time period, political analysts say successful the Jaunpur Lok Sabha seat must be a cakewalk for BJP candidate Kripashankar Singh
The conviction of former Member of Parliament (MP) from Jaunpur and east Uttar Pradesh (UP) strongman Dhananjay Singh in a case of kidnapping and extortion has not solely dashed his plans of contesting the Lok Sabha polls from the world as an unbiased candidate however will impression the caste equations within the constituency the place the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) has fielded Maharashtra’s former junior dwelling minister Kripashankar Singh.
UP’s political analysts referred to as Dhananjay’s conviction a giant benefit for the BJP. An area court docket in Jaunpur on Wednesday sentenced the previous MP to seven years of imprisonment apart from a penalty of Rs 50,000 in a case of kidnapping a UP Jal Nigam venture supervisor.
The start
“Jitega Jaunpur, Jitenge hum, Aapka Dhananjay, Jaunpur Lok Sabha-73 (Jaunpur will win, so will we, your individual Dhananjay, Jaunpur Lok Sabha seat)”–reads a poster shared by Dhannajay Singh himself on his wall on social media website X. Dhananjay’s put up, dated March 2, 2024, additional states that “Sathiyon Taiyar Rahiye, Lakshya Bas Ek-Lok Sabha 73 Jaunpur (pals, be ready, the goal is just one, Jaunpur Lok Sabha seat). Singh’s put up, which received greater than 6 lakh views and over 7,000 likes was posted on the day the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) launched its first listing of candidates from UP’s 51 Lok Sabha seats, together with the title of former Congress chief Kripa Shankar Singh for Jaunpur. Dhananjay’s put up, nevertheless, mirrored sturdy electoral aspirations.
However 4 days later, an MP/MLA court docket convicted Dhananjay and his aide Santosh Vikram Singh within the kidnapping case, and, on Wednesday, the court docket awarded him a seven-year jail sentence. Until the next court docket stays the conviction, Dhananjay’s ballot plans for Jaunpur are successfully dashed, a growth that ought to profit the BJP. “I’m being framed in a pretend case. Will problem the decrease court docket’s order within the greater court docket,” mentioned Dhananjay Singh quickly after he was arrested following the MP/MLA court docket’s order. Underneath the Illustration of the Individuals Act, the sentence makes him ineligible to contest the election.
Jaunpur constituency in focus
Dhananjay, who held the place of nationwide basic secretary in Janata Dal (United), lately introduced his plans for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and was in talks with the INDIA bloc. His political profession blossomed in 2002 when he registered a thumping win through the UP meeting elections from the Rari meeting seat in Jaunpur as an unbiased candidate. He retained the seat in 2007 as a JD(U) candidate. In 2009, he received as an MP on a BSP ticket and received his father Raj Deo to contest and win Malhani, which he vacated. In 2014, Dhananjay contested the Lok Sabha polls as an unbiased candidate and secured round 64,000 votes, however misplaced to the BJP. He, nevertheless, continued to contest, first within the meeting polls in 2017 on a Nishad Celebration ticket, then within the 2020 meeting bypolls and the 2022 meeting polls from the Malhani seat as a JD(U), however didn’t win.
Within the 2022 meeting polls, Dhananjay received a powerful 68,838 votes after he contested as an unbiased candidate from Malhani in Jaunpur. In 2023, his spouse Srikala D Singh grew to become the zila panchayat chairman, however BJP leaders mentioned that the social gathering didn’t contest the seat.
After Dhananjay Singh’s conviction, political analysts say successful the Jaunpur Lok Sabha seat must be a cakewalk for the BJP. “Dhananajay Singh has labored exceptionally laborious in Jaunpur and has a large political clout that helps him each time he contests. The actual fact was proved many instances when Singh received even whereas contesting as an unbiased candidate. Within the 2022 meeting polls, Dhananjay, who contested as an unbiased candidate from Jaunpur’s Malhani seat, bagged round 69,000 votes. This was regardless of his eventual loss to Samajwadi Celebration candidate Fortunate Yadav. Dhananjay showcased his clout by pushing the BJP and the BSP beneath him. It exhibits his sturdy voter base within the constituency,” mentioned Shashikant Pandey, head of the political science division at Bhimrao Ambedkar College, Lucknow.
After Dhananjay’s conviction, he mentioned, the election goes to Modi vs Relaxation, and the candidate as a person hardly issues, which might profit Kripashankar Singh. “Jaunpur will assist BJP’s 400 paar (over 400) seat purpose nationally,” Kripashankar had mentioned after being named the social gathering decide on the seat the place the Samajwadi Celebration is but to call its candidate.
