Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh: A lifetime of alleged crimes and no convictions

Uttar Pradesh politics has long been maligned due to the involvement of crime and criminals in the daily political affairs of the state. Hence, now and then, some politician belonging to the state is marred with controversies, accusations, and arrests. The recent accusations of sexual assault against BJP MP and WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh have sparked a conversation about the unchecked power of so-called ‘Bahubali’ leaders. Let’s take a look at the long and contentious life of the Kaiserganj MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

Brij Bhushan has faced as many as 38 cases against him under various charges, including theft, rioting, murder, criminal intimidation, attempt to murder, kidnapping, dacoity, etc., all lodged between 1974 and 2007. He was also booked in a case under the UP Goondas Act and three more under the stringent Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act in that period. However, he has been acquitted in almost all of them, with his 2019 affidavit showing four pending cases against him. Known for its notorious Bahubali leaders, eastern UP has seen the abrupt misuse of faith, political power, and muscle over the past four decades to dominate opponents and suppress dissent.

The 66-year-old BJP MP rose to political fame during the Ram Mandir Movement led by BJP-RSS and various Hindu outfits. Being a prominent figure in the movement, Singh gained political momentum and fought his first-ever Lok Sabha election in 1991. He fought on a BJP ticket and won the election by record-setting 1.13 lakh votes from the Gonda constituency. And ever since, the Rajput leader has risen in regional and national politics. In 1992, when the disputed structure was taken down by ‘Karsevaks,’ Brij Bhushan was one of the first arrests made by the Allahabad Police.

It is something Mr. Singh proudly recalls and boasts, “During the movement, I was the first person from the area to be arrested by Mulayam Singh. I was also the first person arrested by the CBI after the controversial structure was demolished,” said Mr. Singh. Soon after, Singh was arrested again in 1993, albeit for completely opposite reasons compared to his earlier arrest. He was booked under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) for allegedly assisting in sheltering shooters of Dawood Ibrahim during the 1993 unrest across the nation caused by the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992. He was absolved of the TADA charges a few years later, as the main witness never testified.

Considered a guardian angel among his followers, Singh had a difficult childhood. His brother was murdered, his family house demolished, and several attacks on himself - All because of petty business rivalries. Circumstances often play a major role in one’s upbringing, and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is a prime example of it. Singh has utilized his power to the fullest to earn both respect and fear. In fact, people from the region took the wrestlers’ allegations as an attack on their angel, leading them to hold counter-protests against the wrestlers.

His mass appeal is accredited to his fiery speeches and development works, including the foundation of several health and educational institutes across the state. Singh has managed to make full use of the ‘Mandal-Kamandal’ politics, using his Thakur and Hindu identity to garner the support of the masses. His caste alignment, muscle power, and influence in the region make him invincible and unshakable in the literal sense.

The 66-year-old previously admitted to murder during a news interview with The Lallantop in 2022. “I have committed a murder in the past. Whatever people may say; I did commit a murder. I immediately shot and killed the person who had shot Ravinder dead.” Singh referred to killing the murderer of his close friend Ravinder Singh.

In 2004, Brij Bhushan was replaced by Ghanshyam Shukla as the party’s candidate from Gonda parliamentary constituency. Incidentally, Shukla was killed in a road accident the same year. Alleging that it was murder, Shukla’s wife wrote to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, seeking a CBI probe into the matter. In the same year, his 22-year-old son, Shakti Singh, used the politician’s licensed pistol to kill himself. His suicide note read: “You have not proved to be a good father, you have never cared about my sister or me, you thought only of yourself, we see our future as dark.”

Rumors suggest that Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee disliked Singh, and it grew with time. Eventually, BJP expelled Singh in 2008 for cross-voting in a no-confidence motion in the Parliament. Then, he joined Samajwadi Party and became an MP from the Kaiserganj constituency. However, the advent of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to the central leadership saw him come back to the BJP in 2014 and secure his Kaiserganj seat in 2014 and again in 2019. “I wanted to retire from politics in 2014 itself. But Amit Shah, during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, did not allow me to do that,” he said. Currently, his son, Pratik Bhushan Singh is also a sitting BJP MLA from the Gonda constituency.

His closeness to the Modi-Shah duo is also considered one of the major reasons why the government has taken a soft stance on the wrestlers’ allegations against Singh. Political experts suggest BJP also fears the backlash they might face in the most populous state if Singh lands in trouble in the election year. After losing power in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh in the past seven months, BJP must be feeling the heat, and every action can have a massive impact on their hopes for a hattrick of securing the majority in the lower house.

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