Drama in Moradabad as Akhilesh bows to Azam’s choice
The last day of nomination for the first phase of Lok Sabha election saw dramatic flipflops in Moradabad and Rampur Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh as fissures in the Samajwadi Party (SP) came out in the open.
In a bid to placate senior party leader Azam Khan, the party leadership made his confidante, Ruchi Vira, its official candidate in Moradabad, leaving its MP, S.T. Hasan, in the cold. On Tuesday, Dr. Hasan had filed his nomination. The news of the sudden shift led to a ruckus in the local unit and Dr. Hasan’s supporters burnt effigies of Ms. Vira.
After the district magistrate declared Ms. Vira as the official candidate, Dr.
Hasan told reporters that he filed his nomination after being given the party symbol. “I am surprised because if I were not worthy I would not have got it in the first place. There must be some compulsions but will stand by the High Command’s decision,” he said.
Hailing from an influential Vaishya family of Bijnor, Ms. Vira was an SP MLA from the Bijnor seat from 20142017, before shifting to the BSP for some time. She returned to the SP fold after being expelled by Mayawati for antiparty activities. She is the daughterinlaw of the late Dharam Vira, former Cabinet Secretary and Governor of Mysore, West Bengal and Punjab.
Sources close to Dr. Hasan held Mr. Khan responsible for the change and
A file photo of Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav with party leader Azam Khan.
charged him for not allowing a vibrant Muslim leadership in the party. “Everybody knows his nature but the high command has to cede to his demand because of public perception. It seems Khan sahib was feeling insecure by Doctor sahib’s rise in the Muslim community and wanted to cut him to size. It became apparent during the local
body polls,” said a member of his team.
The situation turned amusing in Rampur where as many as three probables from the party ranks filed the nomination, indicating a clear divide in the local unit. First, Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi, the Imam of New Delhi’s Parliament Street mosque, who claimed to have the symbol, rushed to file his nomination without any visible local support. After that, Asim Raja, a close acolyte of Mr. Khan, turned up to file the nomination with the district president and followers in tow. Towards the end of the day, former municipal corporation president Abdul Salam, who is also said to be close to Mr. Khan, ran in to file the nomination with five supporters. Party spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi confirmed that State party president Naresh Uttam Patel took the symbol of Mr. Nadvi by a chartered flight. “The other two will be considered as Independents,” he said.
The developments were triggered after Mr. Yadav visited Mr. Khan last week in the Sitapur jail where he is lodged after being convicted in the fake birth certificate case of his son. Sources said Mr. Khan wanted Mr. Yadav to contest from Rampur and field Ms. Vira from Moradabad.
Mr. Raja told The Hindu that he filed the nomination as per the direction of his leader. “Azam sahib is the tallest leader in the party. We had asked Akhilesh ji to contest from Rampur but he expressed his inability. It doesn’t look good but in politics, such things happen,” he said.
Political analyst Suryamani Gupta said the SP would have been better placed if it had fielded Ms. Vira from Bijnor, her home base that also has a substantial Muslim population. “A practising physician, Dr. Hasan is a popular figure and the decision to replace him will cause resentment among Muslims.”