Azam in a ‘do or die’ battle to protect his bastion
S Raju s.raju@htlive.com
MEERUT: Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan is engaged in a ‘do or die’ battle to protect his bastion - Rampur – even as the ruling BJP is pulling out all stops to the wrest the constituency where by-election will be held on December 5.
The contest on this seat is between SP’s candidate Asim Raza and BJP’s Aakash Saxena who is the complainant in most of the cases lodged against Azam Khan. The bypoll for the Rampur Assembly seat was necessitated after a court in Rampur dismissed an application filed by Azam Khan seeking a stay on his conviction in a 2019 hate speech case, which had led to his disqualification from the Assembly.
The BJP’s strategy seems to be centred around adopting ways to make a dent into Khan’s support base and bringing his loyalists into its fold to spread. Prominent among these leaders were Azam’s media in-charge Fasahat Ali Khan ‘Shanu’, city’s leading transporter and SP leader Tahir Ali Yusuf who contested the previous election from Chamraua constituency on Congress ticket after quitting the SP and many other leaders.
In his counter attack, Azam Khan on Thursday presented BJP leader Santosh Khera, who contested panchayat election, along with many other BJP supporters who quit the saffron party and joined the SP. Speaking to mediapersons on this occasion, Khan appealed to people to teach the BJP a lesson through their ballots on the day of polling. Rampur Assembly constituency became a bastion for Azam Khan since his first contest on this seat in 1980. He registered his 10th victory in the constituency in 2022 election. In between, he lost only in 1996 Assembly election when Congress candidate Afroz Ali Khan defeated him.
Having 60% Muslim and 40% Hindu voters, the Rampur constituency has 35,000 Lodh Rajputs, 35,000 Vaish, 18,000 Saini and Maurya and 12,000 Dalit voters.
Khan has a wide support base among both Muslim and Hindu voters. Aakash Saxena contested against him in 2022 Assembly election and lost by a huge margin of 55,141 votes. He secured 76,084 votes against 1,31,225 votes of Khan.
Encouraged by their victory in the Lok Sabha by-election in which BJP’s Ghanshyam Lodhi defeated SP candidate Aasim Raza, BJP’s election strategists were using their all might to wrest the constituency from Azam Khan in order to weaken him further.
BJP’s western UP president Mohit Beniwal is camping in Rampur since the bypoll was declared. Speaking to HT over phone, he claimed: “People of Rampur want ‘Azam-mukt Rampur’, therefore they will ensure the victory of Saxena in the election.”
According to Beniwal, the Rampur constituency had been a citadel of the SP, but after the victory of BJP candidate in the LS by-election, people would help the saffron party register victory on this constituency as well. Meanwhile in a major development, Azam Khan’s arch rival and Congress leader Naved Mia also announced to extend his support to Aakash Saxena after a meeting between both the leaders in Noir Mahal on Friday.
Mia had contested against Azam Khan as a Congress candidate in 2022 Assembly election and got only 4,000 votes. He urged his supporters to vote in favour of Aakash Saxena for the development of the area. SP leaders, however, believed that it should be seen as friendship of two foes against a common enemy and claimed that “it won’t help the BJP much.”
SP leader and former member of the state planning commission Sudhir Panwar accused the ruling party of misusing government machinery in the election to ensure the victory of BJP candidate in the fray. “The EC should take note of misuse of govt machinery in Rampur and other constituencies where polling will be held on December 5,” he said.