Man who threw ink on BJP candidate from UP's Ghosi surrenders

The man who threw ink at former Uttar Pradesh minister and BJP candidate for the Ghosi assembly bypoll Dara Singh Chauhan surrendered himself to police on Monday, claiming he had acted at the behest of a local party leader.

Police, however, denied his allegation that local BJP leader Prince Yadav had a role in the incident. Yadav, a block development committee member, termed it a conspiracy against him by the opposition Samajwadi Party.

Before surrendering at the Kopaganj police station, Abhimanyu Yadav, alias Monu or Diamond, told news persons that Prince Yadav had asked him to carry out the ink attack on Dara Singh Chauhan.

Chauhan was campaigning for the by-election in the Ghosi assembly seat in Mau district on Sunday when Abhimanyu Yadav threw ink on him.

Ghosi police Circle Officer (CO) Dhananjay Mishra said Abhimanyu Yadav is associated with the Samajwadi Party and had previously contested students' union elections from the DCSK College. When Dara Singh Chauhan had contested from Ghosi on a Samajwadi Party ticket, Monu Yadav was with him, the official said.

He said that the man holds a grudge against Chauhan as he is now contesting on a BJP ticket.

The CO said interrogation is going on and any other person found involved will face strict action.

Reacting to the incident, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi: "When the person who threw the ink in Ghosi himself said BJP people made him do it, then what more is there to say now. See what the fear of defeat is making the BJP do. Ghosi people will choose the SP only."

Significantly, Chauhan was elected from the Ghosi seat in 2022 on a Samajwadi Party (SP) ticket, but last month he resigned from the Assembly membership and joined the BJP.

He had switched from the BJP to the SP in January 2022 and was earlier a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government.

Voting for the by-election will be held on this seat on September 5, while the counting of votes is on September 8.