My husband was convicted because BJP feared he would get ticket to contest elections, says SP's Amethi candidate Maharaji Devi

Maharaji Devi, the Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate from Amethi and wife of ex-Uttar Pradesh Minister Gayatri Prajapati, said on Sunday that her husband was convicted because the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) feared that he could get a ticket to contest elections.

Her remarks came while interacting with the media after casting her vote in Amethi.

"My husband was convicted because they (ruling party BJP) feared that he could get a ticket and contest elections," said Devi to ANI.

The Minister's daughter Sudha also said that her father was convicted just when the polls approached.

Recently, a Special MP MLA Court in Lucknow sentenced Prajapati and two others to life imprisonment in connection with the Chitrakoot gang rape case of 2017.

In the year 2017, it was alleged by a Chitrakoot-based woman that Prajapati and his six aides had gang-raped her and attempted to outrage the modesty of her minor daughter when he was a minister in Uttar Pradesh.

Maharaji Devi asserted that the Samajwadi Party will win and focus on development.

Polling is underway in Ayodhya, Sultanpur, Chitrakoot, Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Prayagraj, Barabaki, Bahraich, Shrawasti, Gonda, Amethi, and Raebareli.

As many as 692 candidates are in the fray in the fifth phase whose electoral fate will be decided by about 2.24 crore electorates. The polling will conclude at 6 pm today.

Polling for four phases of the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections has already been concluded and the fifth phase is underway today.

Polling for the remaining two phases will take place on March 3 and March 7. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.

( With inputs from ANI )