Last Thursday, former BJP MLA Uday Bhan Karwariya stepped out of Naini Central Jail in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, where he had been serving a life sentence for the 1996 murder of ex-Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Jawahar Yadav, also known as Jawahar Pandit.

Uday Bhan, 55, was released after the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government granted him remission following the approval of his mercy petition by Governor Anandiben Patel. On November 4, 2019, the Prayagraj district and sessions court had convicted and sentenced Uday Bhan, a two-time BJP MLA, along with his two brothers — former BSP MP Kapil Muni Karwariya and ex-BSP MLC Suraj Bhan Karwariya — and their cousin Ram Chandra, for their involvement in Yadav’s murder. They had been in jail since then.

In 2018, the court had rejected the state government’s plea to withdraw the murder case against Uday Bhan and the other accused.

Uday Bhan is the second of the three Karwariya brothers. While he is now out of jail, his brothers and cousin remain imprisoned.

On July 19 this year, the state government issued an order for Uday Bhan’s premature release after the Governor approved his mercy petition. The order cited recommendations from the senior superintendent of police (SSP) and the district magistrate (DM) of Prayagraj, his “good conduct” in jail, and the mercy petition committee. By July 30, 2023, Uday Bhan had spent eight years, nine months, and eleven days in jail.

In 2002, Uday Bhan, from one of the most influential families in Prayagraj, became the first in his family to be elected as an MLA on a BJP ticket. His father, Vashisht Narain Karwariya, had previously contested Assembly elections as an Independent candidate but lost both times.

Uday Bhan’s political journey began in 1996 when he was elected president of the Allahabad District Cooperative Bank. In the 2002 Assembly elections, he won the Bara seat in Prayagraj as a BJP candidate and was re-elected in 2007. However, he lost the 2012 Assembly election from Allahabad North. In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, his elder brother Kapil Muni won from the Phulpur constituency on a BSP ticket, and their younger brother Suraj Bhan became a BSP MLC.

The Karwariya family, from the Brahmin community, has had significant influence in Prayagraj’s politics and various business interests, including hotels, construction, petrol pumps, and sand contracts.

When all three brothers were in prison, Uday Bhan’s wife, Neelam Karwariya, successfully contested the 2017 Assembly elections from Meja in Prayagraj on a BJP ticket. However, she lost the 2022 polls to the SP’s Sandeep Singh by a narrow margin.

According to reports, Jawahar Yadav’s murder resulted from a business rivalry with the Karwariyas, who were dominant in sand contracts. Tensions arose when Yadav entered the sand contract business. On August 13, 1996, Yadav was killed in an attack by assailants using AK-47s in the Civil Lines area of Prayagraj.

Following Uday Bhan’s release, Yadav’s wife and four-time MLA Vijayma Yadav announced her intention to challenge the state government’s decision to grant him remission. Vijayma won the 2022 Assembly polls from Pratappur in Prayagraj as an SP candidate.

A retired IPS officer familiar with Prayagraj stated that Uday Bhan’s father, Vashisht, known as Bhukkal Maharaj, had considerable influence in the region, deterring disputes with his family. After Vashisht’s death in 1991, his sons took over his businesses. The ex-officer noted that Uday Bhan and his brothers focused on significant land and business matters and avoided activities that could tarnish their reputation.

Uday Bhan, who completed his engineering degree in electronics from a college in Mumbai in 1990, joined the family business after his father’s death.

Kapil Muni was the Kaushambi zila panchayat chairman in 2000, and Suraj Bhan was the Manjhanpur block president in Kaushambi before becoming an MLC in 2009.