UP Panchayat election: BJP cancels ticket of Unnao rape convict Kuldeep Sengar's wife

Two days after fielding Sangeeta Sengar in the Uttar Pradesh Panchayat polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has cancelled her ticket. It is important to note that Sangeeta Sengar is former MLA and Unnao rape convict Kuldeep Sengar's wife. The BJP had made Sangeeta Sengar a candidate for the district panchayat member from Ward No. 22 of Fatehpur Chaurasi, according to a list released by state party chief Swatantra Dev Singh.

BJP cancels Unao rape convict's wife ticked in UP Panchayat polls

After cancelling the ticket of Kuldeep's wife Sangeeta Sengar, the local party's chief has been asked to send in fresh names for the new candidate. In a video statement issued on Sunday, UP BJP Chief Swatantra Dev Singh said, “The panchayat elections are going on in Uttar Pradesh and we will win all the elections due to hard work done by our workers. At the same time review is also being done at various stages. In Unnao, ward number 22, Sangeeta Sengar was given the ticket, but now her ticket is being cancelled. She will not be the official candidate of the BJP anymore. The district chief has been asked to send three names to panel now.”

Who is Kuldeep Sengar?

Sangeeta's huband Kuldeep Sengar was the Zila Panchayat Chairperson of Unnao from 2016 to 2021, and was given a ticket from Fatehpur Chaurasi Tritaya seat for the Zila Panchayat member. Earlier, names of 51 candidates were released for different Zila Panchayat wards in Unnao. The BJP had fielded outgoing Block Chief Arun Singh from Asoha (second) and Anand Awasthi from Sarsi (first), Anand is also a member of BJP National Executive Committee.

Kuldeep Sengar had become the Zila Panchayat chairman from Unnao district in 2016. As a BJP candidate, Sengar had won the state Assembly polls from Bangarmau Assembly seat of Unnao in 2017. However, the seat fell vacant after he was convicted in the Unnao rape case and was also expelled from the party.

In 2020, Kuldeep Sengar was sentenced to ten years in jail and fined Rs 10 lakh in connection with the death of the Unnao rape victim’s father. He has denied involvement in the man’s death. He’s already been jailed for life for raping the Unnao victim in 2017, when she was a minor.

Uttar Pradesh Panchayat elections 2021

The Uttar Pradesh panchayat election 2021 will be conducted in four phases starting April 15, while the results will be declared on May 2. The UP gram panchayat elections 2021 will be the key test of Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government’s popularity, and an opportunity for opposition parties to gauge the public mood, particularly as they come against the backdrop of persisting farmers’ protests in the country that have also gripped parts of UP.

(Image: ANI, PTI)