Lucknow: In the run-up to the highly anticipated Ghosi by-poll in Uttar Pradesh, a political blame-game has erupted after ink was thrown at BJP candidate Dara Singh Chauhan, who defected last month from the Samajwadi Party. What has made the matter murkier is that the alleged perpetrator has claimed that another BJP leader put him up to the task.
The incident took place Sunday when Chauhan was attending a campaign meeting in Ghosi’s Agri. Chauhan, notably, was a minister in the first Yogi Adityanath cabinet but switched to the SP ahead of the 2022 assembly elections and won the Ghosi seat. This July, he resigned from the UP assembly and returned to the BJP, necessitating the by-poll, scheduled for 5 September.
The Mau police had initially identified a man called Abhimanyu ‘Monu’ Yadav as the perpetrator Sunday, but no arrest was made. However, the matter took a new turn Monday when Yadav himself surrendered to the police and claimed that he was part of a false flag operation orchestrated by another BJP leader, Prince Yadav. Monu Yadav is currently under arrest.
Prince Yadav, however, has alleged that Samajwadi Party candidate Sudhakar Singh was behind the incident to “disturb” him and Yadav voters. The police, too, have claimed that Monu Yadav has links with the SP and holds a grudge against Chauhan.
Meanwhile, the SP and Congress, which are part of the national-level opposition alliance INDIA, have accused the BJP of planning an ink “kaand” (scam) to win sympathy and votes.
Here’s a look at the controversial ‘confession’, the political finger-pointing so far, and what the police have said.
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‘Threw ink at behest of BJP leader’
Self-confessed ink thrower Monu Yadav told mediapersons Monday that he threw ink at the behest of local BJP leader Prince Yadav.
“It is a strategy of BJP leaders. Prince Yadav asked me to do this because they (BJP leaders) feel that the fight is getting tough for them. I threw ink because they said they will save me,” he said, adding that he was alone at the time of the incident.
When asked who made a widely circulated video of the incident, he said it was someone who happened to be present in the crowd.
BJP’s Prince Yadav, meanwhile, has vociferously denied having had anything to do with the ink attack.
“I was in Kushinagar for the past two days for a party event there. I returned to Mau yesterday night and saw the video. Today, I saw another video in which my name was being mentioned (by the accused). I only want to refute this saying that the SP candidate Sudhakar Singh is resorting to these wrong acts because I am the only big Yadav leader campaigning along with the candidate (Chauhan),” Prince Yadav said.
“The SP candidate wanted to disturb the Yadavs, and to disturb me so that they can get the benefit of the Yadav vote. He is resorting to dirty politics,” he added.
‘Ink kaand‘?
Leaders from the opposition SP as well as Congress have claimed that the incident reflects a lack of confidence on the part of the BJP.
Terming the incident as “ink kaand,” SP president Akhilesh Yadav targeted the BJP and asked why the accused had not been arrested.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter) Sunday, Akhilesh said that the BJP was tarnishing its own leaders on purpose.
“Apno ne hi apno par daag lagaya (They have tarnished their own.) In every incident pertaining to throwing ink (in the past), the accused has been arrested but why did this one remain at large? The BJP is on the verge of a loss and they want to win the Ghosi bypoll by getting sympathy. This game is an old one now, the public understands everything,” he said, writing in Hindi.
अपने ने ही अपनों पर दाग लगाया… इंक काण्ड में हर बार दोषी पकड़ा गया पर ये वाला हाथ क्यों नहीं आया?
हारती हुई भाजपा सहानुभूति पाकर घोसी उपचुनाव जीतना चाहती है। ये खेल अब पुराना हो गया है, अब जनता सब समझती है।
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) August 20, 2023
After Monu Yadav’s surrender, Akhilesh wrote that there was nothing left to be said when the accused himself was saying that a BJP member had orchestrated the act.
“Now, watch out for what more the BJP can resort to due to the polls. The public of Ghosi will choose the cycle (election symbol) of SP,” he wrote.
जब घोसी में स्याही फेंकनवाले ने ख़ुद ही बता दिया कि ये काम उससे भाजपाइयों ने ही करवाया है तो फिर अब आगे और क्या कहना। अभी आगे देखियेगा हार का डर भाजपा से क्या-क्या न कराए।
घोसी की जनता सपा की साइकिल ही चुनेगी। pic.twitter.com/XuXlIjeY6j
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) August 21, 2023
In a similar vein, new UP Congress chief Ajay Rai remarked on Chauhan’s history of defections and said that instead of throwing ink, the public should garland the latter with shoes.
Speaking to mediapersons, Rai said that the latest incident and most other incidents of this type have been orchestrated by the BJP.
“Only BJP people are involved in most such incidents. BJP people resort to such tactics to take sympathy, win elections, and to regain the lost trust of the public,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), a member of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has hit back, claiming that the accused has links with the Samajwadi Party.
To bolster this claim, SBSP national spokesperson Arun Rajbhar shared a photo of the accused Monu Yadav with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on X.
घोसी उपचुनाव में प्रचार के दौरान भाजपा प्रत्याशी दारा सिंह चौहान पर स्याही फेंकने वाले आरोपी अभिमन्यु यादव सपा सुप्रीमो श्री अखिलेश यादव जी के साथ। pic.twitter.com/Dh32XcuMDu
— Arun Rajbhar – अरुन राजभर (@ArunrajbharSbsp) August 21, 2023
Speaking to reporters, Rajbhar said that “SP’s goons” were behind throwing ink on their candidate Dara Singh Chauhan.
“It shows that the public’s support and trust is with Dara Singh Chauhan and the NDA coalition. Ever since the SBSP has partnered with the BJP, the SP is dejected and wondering how it will get support from the public,” he said. He added that driven by desperation, the SP was resorting to anarchy.
‘Accused had tiff with BJP leader’: police
Speaking to mediapersons, Mau City circle officer (CO) Dhananjay Mishra said that after accused Abhimanyu ‘Monu’ Yadav surrendered Monday, his links with the Samajwadi Party had come to the fore.
According to Mishra, Yadav had in the past applied to contest student body elections on a ticket from the Chhatra Sabha, one of the student wings of the SP.
“He works and campaigns for the SP. Since Dara Singh Chauhan left the SP and is fighting from the BJP now, he was upset,” Mishra said.
“He had a tiff with Prince Yadav, and asked him if (Chauhan) would come to his village to seek votes. He said that he would throw ink on the leader if he comes to his village. Prince challenged him to do so. He usually keeps company with local SP leaders and thought that if he resorts to such an act, he would get publicity and become a leader,” he added.
Some news reports have claimed that Abhimanyu is related to Prince.
After ink, a shoe
Close on the heels of the ink-throwing incident, a youth dressed as a lawyer allegedly threw a shoe at Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya at the party’s one-day convention in Lucknow’s Indira Gandhi Pratishthan Monday.
The convention was held to discuss the topic of “Thoughts of great personalities born in backward society and their relevance in present times.”
The accused, identified as Akash Saini, was detained by Lucknow police but the Hindu Mahasabha has declared that it will honour him and provide him with all legal assistance.
The Mahasabha’s spokesperson, Shishir Chaturvedi, said that Saini’s actions were justified because Maurya had made “objectionable comments on Hindu deities and their holy books” and he thus “deserved this kind of attack”.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
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