A senior politician from Uttar Pradesh, Mahendra Rajbhar, experienced a shocking incident during a public function in the Jalalpur area of Jaunpur district on Tuesday. The event, organized to celebrate the birth anniversary of Maharaja Suheldev, took an unexpected turn when Rajbhar was repeatedly slapped by Brajesh Rajbhar of the Suheldev Swabhiman Party, immediately after being garlanded.

The incident unfolded as Mahendra Rajbhar addressed the gathering, criticizing those he claimed were exploiting Maharaja Suheldev's name to deceive and exploit the Rajbhar community. He urged the community to reject such individuals. Immediately following this statement, Brajesh Rajbhar approached Mahendra, garlanded him, and then proceeded to slap him multiple times before onlookers intervened. This sudden act of violence caused chaos at the event, with attendees struggling to restore order.

Videos of the assault quickly went viral on social media, drawing widespread condemnation. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav reacted strongly, denouncing the attack on Mahendra Rajbhar as another example of the increasing "humiliating behavior and atrocities on the 'PDA society' under BJP." He called for the immediate arrest and punishment of the assailant, implying negligence on the part of the BJP if such actions were not promptly addressed.

In response to the incident, Jaunpur SP Kaustubh stated that the police had taken note of the viral video and had received a complaint against Brajesh Rajbhar at the Jalalpur police station. An investigation has been launched, and appropriate action will be taken based on the investigation's findings. The complaint alleges that the attack was instigated by SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, who had a close relationship with Mahendra before they parted ways.

Mahendra Rajbhar's political history is complex. In 2017, he was dubbed "Katappa" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he ran as the Bharatiya Janata Party and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) alliance candidate against Mukhtar Ansari from the Mau Sadar seat. After being closely associated with SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar, Mahendra formed his own Suheldev Swabhiman Party in 2019. He later joined the Samajwadi Party in 2022 and became close to Akhilesh Yadav.