Who is Ajay Rai, Congress leader drawing ire over 'latka-jhatka' remark on Smriti Irani?

Congress leader Ajay Rai made headlines on Tuesday for his "latka-jhatka" remark against Union minister Smriti Irani.

Rai, who is a Bhumihar leader, has been the face of the Congress in east Uttar Pradesh for the last decade. On Monday, he took a jibe at Irani saying she only comes to her constituency Amethi to show "latkas" and "jhatkas", an unflattering reference to dance moves that provoked a sharp response from the BJP.

Even as the statement courted controversy and police registered a case against him, the Uttar Pradesh leader refused to issue an apology saying the "terminology was part of the regional dialect and there was nothing obscene about it".

Also read: NCW summons Congress leader Ajay Rai over 'misogynistic' remark against Smriti Irani

“Amethi is in bad condition. Roads are damaged, factories are closed and new units have not yet started after years. People expect their leader to be among them. If someone comes, takes a tour and leave, what do you call them? It is a common language. There is nothing unparliamentary in it,” Rai said, defending himself.

In 2014 and 2019, Rai unsuccessfully contested against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi.

The five-time MLA, however, had started his political career in BJP. He was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly three times - 1996, 2002 and 2007 - on a BJP ticket from Kolasla in Varanasi, according to a report by The Indian Express.

In 2009, he reportedly wanted to contest the Lok Sabha election from Varanasi. However, the BJP gave the ticket to senior party leader Murli Manohar Joshi, following which he resigned from the party and contested against Joshi as a Samajwadi Party candidate. He lost the election.

He joined the Congress in 2012 and contested the bye-election from the Pindra seat in Varanasi and became MLA for the fifth time.

In 2015, Rai was put behind the bars for seven months for his alleged role in violence during a protest march by seers over objection to the ban on the immersion of idols in Ganga.