Lucknow: A month after BJP MP Sharad Tripathi and MLA Rakesh Baghel came to blows during a party meeting in Sant Kabir Nagar, the matter has resurfaced in Deoria, where a hoarding was put up warning people against the "shoe hurling minister".
Bringing back the memories of the incident, which went viral on social media, the hoarding warned the people against Tripathi and his father Ramapati Tripathi, who the hoarding alleged was threatening women. Ramapati Tripathi, who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Deoria this year, was named after BJP denied ticket to Sharad, whose brawl with the MLA had left the party red-faced.
The hoarding, which was taken down by the district administration, was allegedly erected by a group called Deoria Bachao Manch. It read, “Kshatriyon ko joote marne wala beta aur vyapariyon mahilaon ko dhamki, gali dene wala baap. Khalilabad se bhagaye jane ke baa dab devbhumi Deoria ke voteron ko chara daalne aaya hai. Faisla Aapka, Akhir Deoria hai aapka. (The son hurls shoes at Kshatriya community people, the father abuses and threatens businesswomen. After being thrown out of Khalilabad, they are now trying to woo the voters in Deoria. The decision is yours, after all Deoria is yours.)” The incident gained significance as the region has witnessed a long-standing cold war between the Thakur and Brahmin communities.
Earlier, Sant Kabir Nagar MP Sharad Tripathi and Mehdawal MLA Rakesh Baghel had got into a scuffle at a meeting of the District Planning Committee after the minister lost his cool at Baghel because his name was missing from the foundation stone for a local road. He began hitting the MLA with his shoe to which the latter responded by landing a few blows.
Following the incident, the BJP decided to give the ticket from Deoria costituency to its senior leader Ramapati Tripathi, who is considered close to Union Minister Rajnath Singh. The Deoria seat which comes in Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, holds a strategic importance as it is situated in close proximity with Gorakhpur, the hometown of UP CM Yogi Adityanath.
The Deoria parliamentary constituency is constituted by five assembly seats namely Deoria, Tumkahi Raj, Fazilnagar, Patherdeva and Rampur Karkhana. The Deoria seat was won by senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra in the 2014 Modi wave, however this time BJP has fielded Ramapati Tripathi who will be contesting against Gathabandhan candidate Vinod Kumar Jaiswal and Congress candidate Niyaz Ahmad.
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