YouTuber Manish Kashyap Joins Bharatiya Janata Party
YouTuber Manish Kashyap, who gained prominence for questioning government officials on public issues, has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The announcement was made at the party headquarters in Delhi on Thursday, where BJP MP Manoj Tiwari welcomed Kashyap into the saffron camp.
Background of Manish Kashyap
Manish Kashyap, hailing from West Champaran’s Muhnawa Dumari village, completed his graduation in civil engineering from Pune in 2016. Thereafter, he started his YouTube channel ‘Sach Tak News’ in 2018, which involved him questioning government officials on problems concerning the common man.
Controversies and Legal Cases
However, Kashyap has often been caught up in controversies and has several cases lodged against him, for one of which he was arrested for allegedly making and sharing fake videos of Bihari migrants facing harassment in Tamil Nadu. He had surrendered at the Jagdishpur police station after the Tamil Nadu police and Bihar’s Economic Offences Unit (EOU) filed separate cases against him.
After his surrender, he was sent to Madurai jail by the Tamil Nadu police, where he spent over four months. Thereafter, he was brought back to Bihar and sent to Beur jail in Patna. In May 2023, he approached the Supreme Court with a plea to club all the FIRs against him and requested that all the cases against him be transferred to Patna.
Bihar government also appeared before the apex court and submitted that he was a habitual offender, facing eight criminal cases. After spending nine months in jail, he was granted bail on December 23, last year after Patna high court granted him bail.
Political Aspirations
While in jail, Manish Kashyap also contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but his nomination was canceled. He then contested the Assembly election from West Champaran’s Chanpatia constituency in 2020 as an Independent candidate, finishing third. The BJP has held the Chanpatia since 2000 and retained the seat with Umakant Singh securing 83,828 votes in the 2020 Bihar assembly elections.
Kashyap has openly described himself as a supporter of PM Modi and stated his desire to free the Bihar constituency from the spell of dynastic politics that has gripped it. Earlier, he had announced to file his nomination paper from Paschim Champaran Lok Sabha seat on April 30.
Joining the BJP
Kashyap’s decision to join the BJP is seen as a strategic move by the party to strengthen its position in Bihar, where it is facing a stiff challenge from the ruling Janata Dal (United). Kashyap’s joining ceremony was attended by several senior BJP leaders, including party chief J.P. Nadda and Union Minister Amit Shah.
