'Was asked to pay bribe for party ticket', says BSP worker

BSP worker Dr Indrasen Maurya has claimed that he was asked to pay a bribe of Rs 5 lakh to the party co-ordinator Amarjeet Gautam for a party ticket for the upcoming panchayat elections.

Jaunpur: With the Uttar Pradesh panchayat elections knocking at the doors, the infighting among the members of political parties have started coming to the fore with the latest being BSP workers accusing each other of taking bribes.

In a new development, former BSP district panchayat president Dr Indrasen Maurya levelled allegations against the party co-ordinator Amarjeet Gautam of demanding a bribe for giving him a party ticket for the panchayat elections. An audio clip of the purported conversations of the party leaders is making rounds on social media.

In the purported audio clip, Dr Indrajit Maurya can be heard saying that he is in a position to pay Rs 40,000 to which Amarjeet Gautam says that this amount won't help him fetch a party ticket.

Gautam can be heard saying that a total of Rs 25 lakhs is required to be submitted to Vidhan Sabha.

Maurya claimed that he has on many occasions given handsome money to Gautam.

"I was asked to pay a bribe of Rs 5 lakh to party co-ordinator Amarjeet Gautam in exchange for a party ticket. I have already paid a lot of money in the name of the party, birthday parties and on many other occasions. I have even given money during coronavirus-triggered lockdown for petrol and diesel," said Maurya.

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Dr Maurya said that he wanted to contest from ward no 19 but when the party told him to fight from ward no 18, he claimed to have agreed. He said that the party gave ticket to Surender Singh.

"Despite agreeing to terms and conditions of the party, I was asked to pay a bribe to get a party ticket," he added.

However, Amarjeet Gautam has refuted the allegations and said that it is an attempt to malign his image.

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"I have been associated with BSP for quite long and have always stayed active in politics. This is all done to deliberately target me and my image," he said.

The UP Panchayat Elections are scheduled to take place by April 30. A total of 57,207 heads will be chosen this year.

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court restrained the Uttar Pradesh government and the Election Commission from finalising reserved seats for the panchayat elections in the state.

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