Lok Sabha polls: Father of key accused in Lakhimpur Kheri violence to contest election on BJP ticket

Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni, the father of Ashish Misra, the key accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, has been fielded again by the BJP for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Ajay Mishra, the incumbent MP from Kheri, will contest the polls again from the same seat.

Mishra’s seat was included in the BJP’s first list of 195 candidates, which included prominent figures from the party, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, etc.

This is the third time that Ajay Mishra will be contesting from the Kheri seat after winning the Lok Sabha polls twice in 2014 and 2019.

Ashish Mishra was accused of running over farmers during their protest in 2021 against the farm laws. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court and walked out of jail in January 2023.

LAKHIMPUR KHERI VIOLENCE

Eight people were killed on October 3, 2021 after violence erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district during a farmers’ protest. The farmers had assembled to protest the visit of Ajay Mishra and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to Banbirpur.

The violence erupted after a car which allegedly had Ashish Mishra inside, ran over the farmers who were protesting. Four farmers were killed in the incident.

This led to clashes between the protesters and BJP workers, which led to the death of four more people who were part of the party’s convoy.

The car which ran over the farmers belonged to Ashish Mishra, but he had denied that he was inside the vehicle during the violence.