Swami Sachchidanand Hari Sakshi (Sakshi Maharaj)DOCKET NO. 43096

AGE

68

EDUCATION

Holds a Ph.D., along with traditional Shastri and Acharya degrees. He pursued his higher education at Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Sampoornanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi, specializing in Hindu philosophy and Sanskrit.

TERMS SERVED

6

PROFESSION BEFORE POLITICS

Religious Leader (Monk), Acharya Mahamandaleshwar of the Shri Nirmal Panchayati Akhada, and Educationist/Businessman (Director of the 'Sakshi Maharaj Group' which manages numerous educational institutions, schools, colleges, and ashrams across India).

DECLARED ASSETS

₹6.72 Cr

DYNASTY CONNECTIONS

No formal political dynasty, though he comes from a prominent religious background as the son of Swami Atmanandji Maharaj.

Born on January 12, 1956, in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, Swami Sachchidanand Hari Sakshi, widely known as Sakshi Maharaj, is a career politician and a deeply influential religious leader in the Hindutva fold. Holding a Ph.D. alongside traditional Sanskrit degrees (Shastri and Acharya), he possesses a formidable religious following as the Acharya Mahamandaleshwar of the Shri Nirmal Panchayati Akhada. Beyond his spiritual role, he is a seasoned businessman and educationist, directing the 'Sakshi Maharaj Group' which runs a vast network of ashrams, schools, and colleges across the country. His political career took off in the early 1990s amidst the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. He represented the Mathura Lok Sabha constituency in 1991 and subsequently the Farrukhabad constituency in 1996 and 1998 under the BJP banner. Over the years, his political loyalties witnessed fluctuations; he briefly defected to the Samajwadi Party and Kalyan Singh's Rashtriya Kranti Party, securing a Rajya Sabha nomination in the process, before re-aligning permanently with the BJP. He has been the sitting MP from Unnao since 2014, solidifying his status as one of the most vocal, unapologetic, and polarizing figures of the Hindu right-wing.

ATTENDANCE

88.9%

QUESTIONS ASKED

0

DEBATES PARTICIPATED

0

MPLADS UTILIZATION

46.5%

SOURCE: PRS India

ALLOCATED

₹14.70 Cr

SPENT

₹6.84 Cr

UNSPENT

₹7.86 Cr

UTILIZATION

46.5%

WORKS COMPLETED

12

WORKS RECOMMENDED

77

SOURCE: Empowered Indian (empoweredindian.in/mplads), MPLADS government data

0 FULFILLED · 0 BROKEN · 0 IN PROGRESS · 3 UNVERIFIED

1. 01. Repeatedly promised and campaigned on aggressively shutting down local slaughterhouses in the Unnao constituency to protect cows, bringing this issue up even during parliamentary debates.

   UNVERIFIED

   Shutting down local slaughterhouses · SOURCE: Lok Sabha Debates / Campaign Speeches

2. 02. Campanioned aggressively on the ideological pillars of the BJP, advocating strongly for the Uniform Civil Code, Ram Mandir construction, and population control measures.

   UNVERIFIED

   Implementation of Core Hindutva Planks (UCC, Ram Mandir) · SOURCE: 2024 Campaign Speeches

3. 03. Promised toll-free roads and the creation of railway underpasses across specific bottlenecks in Unnao to improve regional connectivity.

   UNVERIFIED

   Infrastructure and Highway Toll Exemptions · SOURCE: Constituency Rallies / Parliamentary Interventions

Declared 2 pending criminal cases in his 2024 affidavit involving 7 IPC charges. The charges prominently feature sections related to cheating and dishonesty (IPC Section 420), forgery of valuable security (IPC Section 467), forgery for purpose of cheating (IPC Section 468), using as genuine a forged document (IPC Section 471), and criminal breach of trust by a public servant, banker, merchant, or agent (IPC Section 409). In earlier affidavits (e.g., prior to 2019), over 30 serious criminal cases were historically listed, including charges related to murder, robbery, dacoity, criminal intimidation, and promoting enmity between groups; though he has not been convicted in the major cases.

• Expelled from the Rajya Sabha in 2006 following a televised sting operation that

  HIGH · ALLEGED

  Expelled from the Rajya Sabha in 2006 following a televised sting operation that caught him offering to misuse his Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds in exchange for kickbacks.

  2006-03 · SOURCE: Wikipedia - Sakshi Maharaj; Search results confirm STAR TV sting operation and March 21, 2006 Rajya Sabha expulsion

• Historically faced allegations and charges in high-profile criminal cases, inclu

  HIGH · UNDER-TRIAL

  Historically faced allegations and charges in high-profile criminal cases, including the murder of Sujata Verma and BJP leader Brahm Dutt Dwivedi, as well as accusations of rape, though he maintains these were politically motivated and he was not convicted in the major cases.

  2013-ongoing · SOURCE: Scroll.in - Controversial MP Sakshi Maharaj has a trail of rape and murder charges; Outlook India - Named In 34 Criminal Cases

• Sparked immense national outrage by urging Hindu women to have at least four chi

  LOW · ALLEGED

  Sparked immense national outrage by urging Hindu women to have at least four children to 'protect their religion' against demographic shifts.

  2015-01 · SOURCE: TIME Magazine - Indian MP Says Every Hindu Woman Must Produce 4 Children; Wikipedia - Sakshi Maharaj

• Publicly referred to Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, as a 'patri

  MEDIUM · ALLEGED

  Publicly referred to Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi, as a 'patriot' (Deshbhakt), forcing the BJP leadership to officially distance themselves from his remarks.

  2014 · SOURCE: Daily YO - Godse vs Jinnah: How the BJP treats admirers of the two historical figures

• Samajwadi Party
• Rashtriya Kranti Party
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

• [1] MyNeta / ECI Affidavit
• [2] PRS Legislative Research (17th Lok Sabha Data)
• [3] Lok Sabha Debates / Campaign Speeches
• [4] 2024 Campaign Speeches
• [5] Constituency Rallies / Parliamentary Interventions