BJP's Barabanki Candidate Upendra Singh Rawat Opts Out Of LS Polls After His 'Forged' Obscene Video Goes Viral

An obscene video purportedly showing Rawat emerged on social media. The video surfaced a day after the BJP fielded him as its candidate from the Barabanki seat.

BJP MP Upendra Singh Rawat said he will not contest LS Polls till proven innocent.

Source : Twitter/Upendra Singh Rawat

Barabanki: BJP MP Upendra Singh Rawat, who has been fielded by the saffron party from the Barabanki Lok Sabha seat on Monday withdrew his candidature after an obscene video allegedly involving him went viral.  

The BJP MP said he will not contest any election till he is proven innocent. Rawat has also demanded an investigation into the matter.

"An fake video of mine generated by deepfake AI technology is being made viral, for which I have lodged an FIR," Rawat posted on X in Hindi. He added he has requested the party president to get it investigated.

मेरा एक एडिटेड वीडियो वायरल किया जा रहा है जो DeepFake AI तकनीक द्वारा जेनरेटेड है, जिसकी FIR मैंने दर्ज करा दी है,इसके संदर्भ में मैंने मा॰ राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष जी से निवेदन किया है कि इसकी जाँच करवायी जाये। जबतक मैं निर्दोष साबित नहीं होता सार्वजनिक जीवन में कोई चुनाव नहीं लड़ूँगा

— Upendra Singh Rawat (@upendrasinghMP) March 4, 2024

"I will not contest any election in public life until I am proven innocent," the first-time MP said. 

An obscene video purportedly showing Rawat emerged on social media. The video surfaced a day after the BJP fielded him as its candidate from the Barabanki seat.

An FIR has reportedly been lodged against an unknown accused after a complaint by the BJP MP's personal secretary Dinesh Chandra Rawat, Aditya Tripathi, Kotwali police station in-charge, said.

The FIR claims that some people have made public a doctored objectionable video of the MP to tarnish his image after he was declared a BJP candidate.

The PTI report quoting Police sources said that in the video, a man is seen in an objectionable position with a woman.

The MP on Sunday said that as soon as I got the party's ticket from Barabanki, his opponents did this act, claiming that the video is completely doctored. He added the accused will be identified soon.

In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had denied ticket to the then sitting MP Priyanka Singh Rawat and made Upendra Singh Rawat its candidate.