Lucknow: BJP candidate Sakshi Maharaj moved towards his third victory on the Unnao parliamentary seat. Sakshi was pitted against Samajwadi Party’s Annu Tandon. BJP has been occupying this seat for the last ten years. According to the Election Commission’s data, Maharaj won against rival SP’s Annu Tandon.
In the 2014 and 2019 elections, he won here on a BJP ticket. In 2014, Sakshi Maharaj defeated Samajwadi Party’s (SP) Arun Shankar Shukla by a margin of more than 3 lakh votes. In 2019, Maharaj contested for the second time on a BJP ticket.
In this election, Sakshi defeated SP’s Annu Tandon by a margin of more than 4 lakh votes. In the 2024 elections, BJP expressed confidence in the leader for the third time and fielded him.
A total of 8 candidates were trying their luck on this seat.
Swami Sachchidanand Hari Sakshi Ji Maharaj (born 12 January 1956), also known as Sakshi Maharaj, is an Indian political and religious leader belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party. He won the 2014 general election from Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. He also won Indian general election in 1991 from Mathura, 1996 and 1998 from Farrukhabad. He was also a member of Rajya Sabha from 2000 to 2006. He holds a Ph.D. degree and runs various educational institutions and ashrams across India under the banner of Sakshi Maharaj Group for which he is also serving as its present director.
Sachchidanand Hari Sakshi was born in Sakshi Dham, Kasganj district, Uttar Pradesh. His father was Atmanandji Maharaj Premi and mother was Madalasa Devi Lodhi. Sakshi belongs to the Lodh community which has been categorised as an Other Backward Class in Uttar Pradesh. Initially, Sakshi belonged to the BJP and had close associations with Kalyan Singh, another BJP leader belonging to the Lodh community, and another BJP leader Kalraj Mishra. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1991 from Mathura, 1996, and 1998 from Farrukhabad which has a Lodh majority. Sakshi Maharaj has been involved in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
