Karan Bhushan Singh, the son of former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, won the Kaiserganj Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh by a margin of over 1.4 lakh votes. He secured 5,71,263 votes as against 4,22,420 votes that went to his rival, Bhagat Ram of the Samajwadi Party.
Karan Bhushan Singh was nominated from the Kaiserganj seat after his father, a six-time MP, was dropped. Brij Bhushan Singh has been charged for sexual harassment and outraging the modesty of women under the Indian Penal Code. The Congress, in reaction to Karan Bhushan Singh’s nomination, had said it was a “new low”.
Five women wrestlers had accused Brij Bhushan Singh of sexually abusing athletes. During a court hearing on May 21, Brij Bhushan pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Wrestlers including Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, had protested since January 2023 on the streets of the national capital demanding Brij Bhushan Singh’s arrest. In May, when the wrestlers attempted to march to the new Parliament building as it was being inaugurated, the Delhi Police manhandled them and detained them. The police also cleared the protest site. Images of the police hauling away the wrestlers had drawn condemnation.
The Delhi Police had registered a first information report against him in April only after the intervention of the Supreme Court. Brij Bhushan Singh had remained defiant in the face of widespread protests and growing outrage.
Kaiserganj voted on May 20. On May 29, two people were killed after a car, which was allegedly part of Karan Bhushan Singh’s convoy, hit their motorcycle in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district.
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