Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh

Born on January 8, 1957, in a Rajput family in Gonda district, Uttar Pradesh, Singh's political journey began in his student days. Immersed in the charged atmosphere of Ayodhya during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, he emerged as a local face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). His strong personality and alleged links to criminal activities earned him the moniker "Bahubali" (muscleman) – a label that has both lauded and haunted him throughout his career.

Singh's foray into national politics came in 1991 when he won the Lok Sabha seat from Gonda as a BJP candidate. This marked the beginning of a long and successful political career, interspersed with controversies. He navigated the turbulent political landscape of Uttar Pradesh, switching allegiances from the BJP to the Samajwadi Party and back again, driven by the pragmatism of electoral politics.

Former BJP MP from Kaiserganj Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, 65, finds himself at the centre of sexual harassment allegations by India’s most-decorated women wrestlers, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik.  Phogat and Malik staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and addressed the media on behalf of the women wrestlers allegedly exploited by the BJP MP.

A six-term MP – five as BJP member and once, in 2009, as the SP candidate – Singh has represented Gonda and Balrampur in the past, and now Kaiserganj. His son Prateek Bhushan is a two-time MLA from Gonda Sadar.

After his confidant Sanjay Singh was elected Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president on December 21, 2023 Brij Bhushan celebrated with supporters at his Delhi residence where he raised a slogan: “Dabdaba to hai, dabdaba to rahega. Yeh to bhagwan ne de rakha hai (influence prevails and will continue. God has given this influence).” His son Prateek Bhushan Singh, the Gonda Sadar MLA, also joined the celebrations and raised a poster with the slogan written on it.

Three days after the victory, Sports Ministry on December 24, noted that the ‘newly elected body appears to be in complete control of former office bearers’, and suspended the newly-elected body of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The ministry accused the new WFI committee, headed by Sanjay Singh, a close aide of former chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, of showing ‘blatant disregard for the established legal and procedural norms’.

Later he was also dropped from BJP's Lok Sabha candidates list, as his son Karan Bhushan was given the ticket from Kaiserganj constituency instead.