Shocking moment politician gropes reporter on live TV

Mexican official Jose Maria Armenta tries to forcefully kiss presenter Alejandra Leon.

A politician has stood down following a shocking incident which occurred during a live television broadcast recently.

Mexican official Jose Maria Armenta, Master of Ceremonies of the Government of the state of Sonora, had appeared live on the El Mejor Dia (The Best Day) programme when the segment took an alarming turn.

In footage of the guest appearance, Mr Armenta is seen giving male host Vicente Ruiz a fist pump without incident, before kissing female host Martha Hinojos — who appears reluctant and awkward — on the cheek.

Leon is upset after the incident on live TV.

But he then turns to co-host Alejandra Leon — before forcefully grabbing her face with both hands and trying to kiss her face.

Ms Leon struggles violently, and can clearly be seen kicking her legs, squirming and trying to pull away from his clutches.

Ms Hinojos gapes at the camera open-mouthed, while Mr Ruiz stands up and walks towards the camera, apparently in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

Mr Armenta can be heard saying "she didn't want one" in the footage, before asking Ms Leon to kiss his cheek, which she does, The Sun reports.

But Ms Leon goes on to call out the politician's worrying behaviour, telling him: "I need to say something. The devil will take you."

"My boyfriend is going to beat you up, you will see," she added.

Mr Armenta says he believed she was single, saying: "Some day I will kiss you."

But unsurprisingly, the backlash has been fierce, prompting Mr Armenta to resign, release a public statement and vow to steer clear of the program in future.

Armenta later kissed the cheek of Leon.

In the statement, he claimed the assault was an attempt to be "fun and a little irreverent", adding that he had apologised to Ms Leon and that he had "learnt a great lesson".

The latest scandal comes just months after fellow Mexican reporter Maria Fernanda Mora was also groped live on air by a fan after a soccer match.

The shaken Fox sports reporter hit the man with her microphone in the clip which made headlines around the world.

Ms Mora later slammed the fan's behaviour and called out the daily sexism faced by many women.

"What happened to me at dawn on Thursday, happens to thousands of women every day in public spaces," she said on Twitter.

"The difference is that it happened to me during a live link on television and I decided to defend myself. My reaction is what turned the fact into something viral."