A bottle of black ink was hurled on Sunday at the BJP candidate for the Ghosi Assembly bypoll, Dara Singh Chauhan, while he was campaigning. A purported video of the incident is being widely circulated on social media.
As Mr. Chauhan stepped out of his vehicle and navigated between a group of well-wishers in the Sarai Lakhansi area of the Ghosi Assembly segment in Mau district, an unidentified person threw a bottle of ink at him. The ink splashed on the BJP candidate’s face, leading to chaos for some time. Security guards try to stop the person, who ran away.
After the incident, Mr. Chauhan, an Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader, described it as ploy of his opponents, without naming anyone. He added that support for him in Ghosi Assembly constituency in the run-up to the bypolls had made his opponents uncomfortable.
The bypoll, scheduled for September 5, is likely to be a direct fight between the ruling BJP and the main Opposition Samajwadi Party (SP), which has announced Sudhakar Singh as its candidate for the seat. Mr. Singh represented Ghosi between 2012-17 in the Vidhan Sabha.
The byelection has been necessitated by the resignation of Mr. Chauhan, who quit as the SP MLA from the seat on July 15 to join the BJP.
The Ghosi bypoll is considered crucial in view of the changing political dynamic in Uttar Pradesh, with the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) joining hands with the BJP, and the Opposition Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc taking shape, which includes both the SP and the Congress. Amid talk of more SP MLAs getting in touch with the BJP, the bypoll result will also have a bearing on the roadmap ahead for such leaders.
