BSP MP Dhananjay Singh denied poll ticket

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP from Jaunpur constituency Dhananjay Singh, jailed in connection with the murder of a maid at the New Delhi residence of his dentist wife, has been dropped as the party’s candidate for the next general election from the seat.

BSP zonal coordinator Ram Kumar Kureel today said the party has decided to field Subhash Pandey from the constituency.

Dhananjay and his wife Jagriti Singh, a dental surgeon at the RML Hospital in New Delhi, are in jail.They were arrested on November 5 in connection with the death of their 35-year-old maid Rakhi Bhadra, a resident of West Bengal.

Jagriti was arrested under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 344 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code and Juvenile Justice Act. The MP was arrested for allegedly destroying evidence, not informing police about the maid's death immediately and employing a juvenile as domestic help.

The maid’s murder was a big blow to Dhananjay’s political career, as he was already facing criminal cases.

Known as the first BSP member to speak out against party chief Mayawati, he was arrested in Lucknow on December 11, 2011 for his alleged involvement in a double murder at Balev Ghat of Jaunpur on April 1, 2010.

Contractors Sanjay Nishad and Nandlal had been murdered by three motorcycle-borne persons over payment of Rs 7 toll tax.

After investigation, the Kirakat police named Ashutosh Singh, Puneet Singh and Dabloo Singh (all from Jaunpur) and Sandeep (from Chandauli) as the accused in the double murder.

Dhananjay was named as a co-conspirator. Ashutosh is related to the BSP MP and is out on bail.

Dhananjay Singh started his political career in 2002 when he won the Rari assembly seat in Jaunpur as an independent candidate.

He had defeated Sri Ram Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Ram Kumar Yadav of the BSP. In 2004, he unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election on the Lok Janshakti Party ticket from Jaunpur, but managed to poll 1.17 lakh votes.

In 2007, he retained the Rari assembly seat, this time on the BSP ticket. In 2009, he won the Jaunpur Lok Sabha seat as the BSP candidate.

He is believed to have a large following in Jaunpur, where criminal cases against him have failed to dent his image.

But the maid’s murder at his official residence in New Delhi may have proved to be his undoing this time.

Despite the setback, many feel it may be too early to write off Dhananjay, as he has always bounced back from adverse situations in the past.