Video: UP politician's ex-aide garlands, then slaps him on stage
What's the story
Mahendra Rajbhar, the national president of the Suheldev Swabhiman Party (SSP), was allegedly slapped multiple times by his former aide, Brijesh Rajbhar, during a public event in Jaunpur district, Uttar Pradesh.
The incident occurred on Friday at a Bhoomi Pujan ceremony and Maharaja Suheldev's Vijay Diwas celebration.
A video of the incident shows Brijesh garlanding Mahendra before assaulting him.
The SSP chief has since filed a police complaint against Brijesh.
Twitter Post
Video of incident
In UP’s Jaunpur, Suheldev Swabhiman Party chief #MahendraRajbhar was slapped thrice on stage by his own party leader after being garlanded, during a statue unveiling event on Maharaja Suheldev’s Victory Day. #Jaunpur #MahendraRajbhar #PoliticalViolence #UPNews pic.twitter.com/Gr2Va4MH8n
— Ahmed Khabeer احمد خبیر (@AhmedKhabeeer) June 11, 2025
Allegations
Brijesh acted on orders of Om Prakash Rajbhar: Mahendra
Mahendra alleged that Brijesh slapped him as he was about to speak at the event.
He accused Brijesh of acting on the orders of Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party leader Om Prakash Rajbhar, a minister in Yogi Adityanath's government.
"I was the chief guest... At the end of the event...Brijesh Rajbhar garlanded me and assaulted me," Mahendra told reporters.
"He met Om Prakash four to five days before this program."
Defense
'Despite many people being present...it was Brijesh who assaulted me'
Mahendra continued, "Brijesh was once a worker in my party, but he currently holds no official position. I don't know how or why he came to the event or who invited him. There is no internal dispute in the party or any financial disagreement."
Brijesh, however, denied all allegations against him and accused Mahendra of taking money from the Samajwadi Party and abusing him during the program.
Political reaction
Akhilesh Yadav reacts to incident
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has condemned the incident as "another example of atrocities and insult" on PDA (Pichhde, Dalit, Adivasi), alleging the BJP's complicity in it.
He said, "The violent attack on senior leader Mahendra Rajbhar is yet another condemnable example of the growing insults and atrocities faced by the PDA society under BJP rule."
"If the BJP thinks it can sustain its divisive politics by breaking communities from within, it is gravely mistaken."