A law graduate, Ajay Kumar Mishra started his political career as a district general secretary in the BJP. A two-term Lok Sabha member, Mishra found himself in the middle of a political storm after his son Ashish Mishra was accused of running his SUV into a crowd, killing four of them, during the farmers’ agitation in Lakhimpur Kheri in 2021.
Also known as Ajay Mishra Teni, he is the minister of state for home in the Narendra Modi government. Mishra came under attack from the farmers’ organisations, social activists and the opposition parties for allegedly threatening the protesting farmers with serious consequences if they did not withdraw their protests.
In 2021, the Delhi Assembly passed a resolution demanding the removal of Mishra from the Union government after his son was named prime accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri case. The Supreme Court recently said if Ashish Mishra had been physically attending political events, it would be a violation of his bail conditions. Last year, the top court had granted him bail.
Utkarsh Verma
Utkarsh Verma is a two-time MLA from Lakhimpur. Born in 1985, he belongs to the backward Kurmi community. A postgraduate, Varma was nominated by the Samajwadi Party against the backdrop of disgruntlement among the members of the Congress, the alliance partner of the Akhilesh Yadav-led party.
The Congress was reportedly planning to demand the Kheri seat during seat negotiations but the SP announced the candidate unilaterally. Verma has the support of the farmers’ organisations besides the party’s core vote bank of Yadavs and Muslims, who have a sizable strength in the constituency.
This Lok Sabha segment also has a good strength of Kurmi voters and Verma, being a member of the community, expects their support this time. He, however, faces opposition from other Verma family members who represented the seat several times in the past. The seat will go to polls in the fourth phase of Lok Sabha polls on May 13.
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