Who Is MoS Ajay Mishra, Whose Son Allegedly Mowed Down Farmers in Lakhimpur?

Ashish Mishra is closely involved with his father’s political work and manages things in the Kheri constituency.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

The Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police on Monday, 4 October, filed a First Information Report (FIR) for murder against Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni, who allegedly ran his car over the protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri district of the state on Sunday, 3 October.

Meanwhile, MoS for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni, denied the presence of his son on the spot of the incident in which at least eight people, including four farmers, died.

Who Is MoS Ajay Mishra?

Mishra, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is the current Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs, appointed in the July 2021 Cabinet rejig.

Mishra has two sons and a daughter, out of whom, Ashish Mishra is closely involved with his father’s political work and is often managing things in the Lakhmipur Kheri constituency.

From MLA to a Union Minister

Mishra is a Member of Parliament in the 17th Lok Sabha and represents the Kheri constituency of Uttar Pradesh.

Born on 25 September 1960, in Banveer Pur village in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh, Mishra got his Bachelor of Science degree from Christ Church College and attained Bachelor of Law degree from DAV College Kanpur (Kanpur University).

Ajay Mishra was elected as an MLA in the UP Legislative Assembly in May 2012 from Nighasan. Two years later, he was elected as Member of Parliament of the 16th Lok Sabha.

Mishra has also been the vice chairman of the DC Bank Kheri and a Member of Kheri’s Zilla Parishad.

In May 2019, Mishra was re-elected to the 17th Lok Sabha (his 2nd term) and on 24 July 2019, he became Member of the Committee on Public Accounts.

Later in October 2019, he became Member of the Committee on Absence of Members from the Sittings of the House, and also a Member of the Consultative Committee under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

A Brahmin Leader

Mishra is known to have some clout among Brahmin organisations in UP and his elevation as minister is said to have been an attempt to woo this section. Mishra was the lone Brahmin among the new faces from the UP inducted into the Union cabinet in the recent reshuffle. He is also a rare Brahmin to have won from Kheri, a seat traditionally dominated by Kurmi leaders.

Last month, at a Brahmin Mahamilan programme, Mishra said that the name of Lord Brahma is Brahmin.

He added, Brahmin is not a caste, but a rite and culture. Further he talked about how Brahmins have taught the whole world the lesson of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and added that the Ram Temple construction, cleanliness campaign, among other initiatives have worked to help the common man during the COVID-19 period, Dainik Jagran reported.