Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh:
For the first time since 1977, the leader of the Samajwadi Party, Azam Khan, or a member of his family, is not contesting the election for the Rampur assembly seat. A poll will be held on the seat in a bypoll on December 5 after it became vacant following the disqualification of Azam Khan for conviction in a hate speech case.
The Samajwadi Party did not field Azam Khan’s wife Tanzeen Fatima or his daughter-in-law and issued a ticket to his loyalist Asim Raza. Azam Khan or a member of his family has fought continuously from the seat since 1977.
Mr Khan has contested 12 parliamentary elections between 1977 and 2022, winning 10 and losing twice.
In the by-elections held after Azam Khan became MP in 2019, his wife Tazeen Fatma ran and won. Now Asim Raja will now try his luck in the midterm elections.
Congress was a powerful force in the seat during the 1970s and 1980s. Between 1980 and 1993, Mr Khan won five consecutive parliamentary elections but lost the 1996 election to Afroz Ali Khan of Congress. Azam Khan was sent to Rajya Sabha. He later won five consecutive elections between 2002 and 2022.
Azam Khan and his family have faced lawsuits. An initial information report was filed against Azam Khan’s wife and his son, a case of alleged conspiracy to seize government lands in 2014 when he was a minister in Akhilesh Yadav’s government.
Mr Khan has been disqualified from his seat after a local court sentenced him to three years in prison in an incitement to hatred case.
BJP has again declared Akash Saxena, who has fought from the seat in the past, as a candidate for the Rampur bypoll. Saxena lost to Mr Khan from the Rampur Sadar seat earlier this year. The votes will be counted on December 8.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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