Even as it mounts a blistering attack on the Samajwadi Party for giving tickets to criminals, the BJP itself has fielded the wives of two convicted criminals in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
The wives have been fielded on seats that their husbands won five years ago.
While the BJP has fielded two such wives, Congress has given a ticket to one.
The BJP has fielded Sanjeev Raja's wife Mukta Raja from Aligarh City.
According to police, Raja, a first-time MLA, was convicted in a 22-year-old case of assaulting a policeman last November and sentenced to two years in jail. He was, however, granted bail by the court the same day.
BJP's Aligarh district president Rishi Pal Singh said that since Raja did not get relief from the court in his case, the party decided to field his wife from his seat.
Indra Pratap a.k.a Khabbu Tiwari was sentenced to five years of imprisonment by a Faizabad court last December in a case of forgery.
According to sources, the case was lodged against him in 1992 by a principal of a college accusing him of taking admission using a fake mark sheet in 1990. Two more persons were convicted along with Pratap.
Khabbu Tiwrai's wife Aarti has been given the BJP ticket form from Gosaiganj in Ayodhya.
BJP's Ayodhya district president Sanjeev Singh said, "This is the party's decision. Selection of candidates is done after considering several reasons."
The third convicted MLA whose wife has been given a ticket is Ashok Singh Chandel, who was convicted by the Allahabad High Court in a 22-year-old murder case along with eight others in April 2019.
Chandel, a four-time MLA and one-time MP, was acquitted by the lower court in 2002 for "lack of evidence".
However, the High Court set aside the acquittal and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
The Congress has now given a ticket to his wife, Raj Kumari, from Hamirpur district.
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