Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and senior ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government condoled the death of Surendra Singh, a close confidant of party’s newly-elected MP from Amethi, Smriti Irani, who played a crucial role in her victory.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the killing of a party worker as he played a key role in the battle of ballots was unfortunate.  Maurya said in a statement issued here that the entire Amethi was sad over this development because Surendra Singh, a former gram pradhan of Baraulia , was a very popular leader.

Surendra Singh was shot outside his home by some unidentified assailants. Police have launched a manhunt to arrest the killers and 10 people have been detained so far.

Maurya said the police would trace out the killers, even if they were hiding under the ground. “(Jameen) khod ke nikal lenge,” he said, adding that if this was a political murder, the party which orchestrated the killing would have to pay a big price.

Tourism Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi said there was no place for violence in democracy.

“It is very unfortunate that a political leader has been shot dead in his sleep. Stern action should be taken against the killers,” she said.

Joshi, the BJP MLA from Lucknow Cantonment, has won the Lok Sabha election from Allahabad.

Mohsin Raza, the minister in-charge of Amethi district, visited Singh’s home and consoled the bereaved family members.

“As per information received, Singh was attacked in his sleep. This is a very heinous and disgusting crime,” he said.

BJP state general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said that at this time of sorrow the whole BJP unit was with the bereaved family. “The killers will be arrested very soon and their arrest will expose the ugly design of the killers,” he said.