BJP gives Kairana charge to riot accused MP, MLA

Two other BJP MLAs Kunwar Bhartendra Singh of Bijnor and Sangeet Singh Som of Sardhana, too, were booked in the same case. The government had booked Rana and Som under the National Security Act (NSA) but UP’s state advisory board lifted the stringent Act against them and both were released from jail.

While Rana has been provided Y-category security from the state government, Som has been given Z-plus security by the Centre recently.
Hukum was elected MLA from Kairana in 2012 and had resigned from the Assembly membership after his election to Lok Sabha in May this year.

The BJP has declared Anil Chauhan, a Gurjar, as party candidate for the bypoll. Party sources said Hukum, also a Gurjar, has been deriving benefit from polarisation of Hindu voters in the past elections in Kairana where Muslims have a large population.

When contacted, BJP state president Laxmikant Bajpai said both Hukum and Rana are local leaders and the allegations of inciting riots against them were baseless. He added the decision to give the charge to the two is not intended to polarise communities ahead of the bypoll. He said the party was contesting the election on the issue of development and nationalism.

When contacted, Rana said he will execute the responsibility given by the party. He was also in-charge of Bijnor during the recent bypolls where the party was defeated. “I was in-charge of Bijnor and the party lost that seat. But it is a fact that BJP polled more votes in Bijnor bypoll than in 2012 elections,” Rana said.

BJP MP from Aonla Dharmendra Kashyap, former minister Virendra Singh Sirohi, state secretary Ashwani Tyagi and four other leaders will assist Hukum and Rana in Kairana.