New Delhi: Union Minister Satya Pal Singh Baghels' convoy was attacked at Attikullapur village in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday evening. The minister alleged that 100 to 200 miscreants were involved in the attack.
"Union Minister SP Baghel's convoy was attacked with stones and sticks near Attikullapur village that lies under police station Karhal this evening. A case is being registered and the minister is fine," Mainpuri Police tweeted after the incident on Tuesday.
A Member of Parliament (MP) from the Agra Lok Sabha seat Baghel is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Karhal assembly seat in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh. He is pitted against Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav from the constituency.
Notably, Karhal assembly seat is a stronghold of the Samajwadi Party represented by founder Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The attack on Baghel's convoy took place while he was travelling to campaign in Karhal.
"Today during election campaigning, when I was travelling from Kabrai via Attikullapur to Karhal, then in between the route, suddenly some people came out from the fields and attacked. They were sloganeering 'Akhliesh bhaiya zindabaad' when they attacked. They had lathis (sticks) and iron rods," said the minister to news agency ANI after the incident.
Baghel further alleged that one of the miscreants fired at his convoy and also threatened him not to contest against 'his leader'.
"One person said that he is Uma Kant Yadav, said that you are fighting elections against our leader. He further said that today the minister should not be spared and then attacked. When security from my convoy got out of the car, they (attackers) ran. Then one of them (of the attackers) fired at one of the cars of the convoy," said the minister.
Following the incident, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya blamed the Samajwadi Party for the attack and tweeted in Hindi, "The attack on the convoy of Union Minister S P Singh Baghel, BJP candidate from Mainpuri's Karhal assembly constituency, by Samajwadi Party goons has shown the real character of the party."
It is for the first time that Akhilesh Yadav would be contesting from the Karhal constituency of Mainpuri. Election for the assembly seat will be held on February 20, which falls in the third phase of the polls.