Out on bail, ousted from BSP, Dhananjay goes independent

Jagriti, who had contested as an independent candidate from Malhani in Jaunpur in the 2012 Assembly polls, is currently in jail in connection with the maid’s murder while Dhananjay is out on temporary bail granted by the Supreme Court.

Dhananjay, who declared total assets of over Rs 2.5 crore in his affidavit, visited the election office twice to file his nomination in two sets.

“He filed the first set around 11 am. Then, he returned to address a gathering at B R C Inter College. He then went back to the election office to file the other set of papers,” said Ashok Singh, his public relations officer. The move was based on astrologers’ advice, he said.

Earlier, address his supporters, Dhananjay claimed his rising popularity has his political opponents worried and it was on their behest that so many cases were being registered against him.

Dhananjay’s nomination, meanwhile, appears to have given BJP leader Swami Chinmayanand, a former union minister, a chance to grind his axe. Chinmayanand was not happy with the BJP ticket going to K P Singh for Jaunpur Lok Sabha seat.

Referring to what had happened in 2012 Assembly elections, Chinmayanand said: “I am keeping a watch. If I find that our candidate, K P Singh, is not serious about contesting, then I will file nomination as an independent.”

In 2012 Assembly elections, the BJP candidate could not file his nomination due to some technical reasons. The BJP had then supported Jagriti, who, however, fared poorly. The episode had taken place in the backdrop of Pankaj Singh, son of BJP national president Rajnath Singh, meeting Dhananjay in jail in the run up to the elections. On the other hand, Chinmayanand and Rajnath are believed to be not on good terms since long.

The BJP candidate, however, said that he was very much in the contest and had a larger political heritage than the sitting MP. K P Singh is the son of late Uma Nath Singh, who was MLA from Bearsi assembly constituency in Jaunpur several times and had also remained a minister in the Kalyan Singh government.

Meanwhile, having already opted out of contest from Varanasi another eastern UP mafia don-turned-politician, Mukhtar Ansari, on Tuesday filed his nomination as Qaumi Ekta Dal candidate from Ghosi Lok Sabha seat. Ansari is currently lodged in Agra jail and has over a dozen criminal cases lodged against him. He has declared assets worth over Rs 16 crore, which includes large number of plots of land.