Ashish Misra is in jail and Ajay Misra Teni remains comfortable in his ministerial position though he has been asked to remain away from the public eye. The SIT that probed the incident has said that it was ‘pre-planned’.
A strong sense of unease is palpable among the voters and local BJP leaders are acutely aware of the ground situation.
Surjeet Singh, a young farmer from Palia, says, “The wounds are still raw and the ruling party has not fulfilled its promises that included dismissal of Ajay Misra Teni. Farmers are not being aggressive, but there is a strong wave of resentment among them.”
The party suffered another jolt when its sitting MLA from Dhaurhara, Bala Prasad Awasthi, joined the Samajwadi Party.
In Nighasan, where the October 3 incident took place, the BJP has replaced sitting MLA Ram Kumar Patel with Shashank Verma.
In the neighbouring Pilibhit, the situation is no better. The local BJP MP, Varun Gandhi, has been rather vocal in criticising his own party over the farmers’ issues.
