‘Drink my water, don’t vote for me and you’ll get worms’: Ex-BJP MLA warns voters

DEHRADUN: A birthday celebration for former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Sanjay Gupta in Laksar, Haridwar, has triggered a political controversy after he cautioned voters of dire consequences if they did not backing him despite using drinking water supplied through projects undertaken during his tenure.

Key points

• Former Uttarakhand cabinet minister Swami Yatishwaranand and Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad president Mahant Ravindra Puri were among the BJP leaders and religious figures who attended the celebration.
• Gupta won the Laksar seat in the 2012 Assembly election and retained it in 2017.
• Gupta applied the event to highlight what he described as his efforts to improve basic amenities in the constituency during his tenure from 2012 to 2022.

Addressing a gathering of BJP workers and supporters, Gupta highlighted development works carried out while he represented the Laksar Assembly constituency, including projects aimed at addressing drinking water shortages.

Gupta remarked water tanks had been constructed in areas where residents had earlier depended on groundwater that was available at a depth of around 20 feet and was allegedly contaminated.

"I gave people clean water, " Gupta remarked. He then appealed to voters, saying, "If you drink my water and do not vote for me, you will get worms in your stomach and your stomach will burst."

While a video of his speech subsequently circulated on social media, triggering criticism and debate in political circles ahead of the next Uttarakhand Assembly election, the remark drew attention at the gathering.

Gupta applied the event to highlight what he described as his efforts to improve basic amenities in the constituency during his tenure from 2012 to 2022. He cited road, electricity and drinking water projects in a number of villages, including Mahatoli, and stated administrative interventions had supported address longstanding civic matters.

Former Uttarakhand cabinet minister Swami Yatishwaranand and Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad president Mahant Ravindra Puri were among the BJP leaders and religious figures who attended the celebration. Party office-bearers, workers and local supporters additionally congratulated Gupta on his birthday.

Gupta won the Laksar seat in the 2012 Assembly election and retained it in 2017. Nevertheless, he lost the constituency in the 2022 election to Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Mohammad Shahzad.

For now, 'Drink my water, don't vote for me and you'll get worms': Ex remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.