The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Carrying family legacy, SP’S Kairana candidate looks to ‘bridge communal gap’
IT IS 11 am and the Sun is beating down on the stage at the Samajwadipartyelectionofficein Shamli, Uttar Pradesh.
“Sabko vote karwana hai (Make sure that everybody votes),”71-year-oldmukeshrana is heard telling someone on the phone. The local SP leader is fervently making calls to numbers entered in his old diary, reminding in-charges of different villages aboutthebigdayandwhyitisimportant to ensure the victory of Iqra Hasan, a 29-year-old SP leader and INDIA bloc candidate from Kairana LS seat in UP.
Iqra’s family has been in politics for over 40 years. Her grandfather Akhtar Hasan was elected as MP in 1984 from Kairana on a Congress ticket. He defeated Mayawati,whowasthencontesting for the first time in LS polls. Later, her father Munawwar Hasan carried on the family’s politicallegacyandwaselectedasan MP in 1996 on a SP ticket. He died in a road accident in 2008.
After her father’s death, Iqra's mothertabassumhasanwonthe Kairana LS seat on a BSP ticket in 2009 and later in a bypoll in 2018 after BJP MP Hukum Singh’s death. Iqra’s elder brother Nahid Hasan is a three-time MLA. He won the last election in 2022 while contesting from jail. His arrest under the Gangster Act became a turning point in Iqra’s life andshewastheonewhoensured her brother’s victory in the polls.
She completed her school education from Queen Mary’s School in New Delhi, graduated from Delhi University’s Lady Shri Ramcollegeforwomenandgota postgraduate degree in international politics and law from SOAS University in London. Iqra has declaredinherelectionaffidavitthat she is a farmer. In her rallies, she says she is fighting to uphold the “legacy of service”.
Iqra said after her father's death, there was a change in politics, with communal issues taking the centre stage. “But in this polls, we have worked to bridge thatgap.thisismyfirstloksabha election, but I am grateful for the respect and love I received from 36 biradaris (castes). Iqra means taalim (education). Education is very important to keep harmony in society,” she says.
“This election will decide the condition and direction of the country.wehaveseenthe10-year tenureofbjp’sdouble-enginegovernment.whattheydidisinfront of everyone,” she says.
“Iss bachchi ke prati ek aakarshanhai,bilkulbaapkejaise (There is an attraction towards this child (Iqra),exactlylikeherfather),”says Mukesh Rana, a Jat from Shamli.
“Munawwarkirajneetijatonse hi chalti thi, Musalmaan toh bas vote karte the (Foundation of Munawar’s politics were Jats. Muslimsonlyvotedforhim),”says Rana, adding that the BJP-RLD alliance will be defeated as many Jats are angry with RLD president Jayant Chaudhary for suddenly crossing over to the other side.
Vishwasdeswal,a25-year-old voter, describes Iqra as yuva, shikshit,bebaakaurbedaag(young,educated, fearless and spotless). “This time people are going beyond religion to vote,” he says.
“I will not say that BJP will not come back to power, but they will definitely get a shock. Unemployment is bridging the gap between Hindus and Muslims. If they are so confident that the number will cross 400, why are they taking in Congressmen?” says Deshwal.
Iqra will be facing BJP’S sitting Mppradeepchaudharyandbsp's Shripal Rana. In the last election, Chaudharydefeatediqra'smother Tabassum Hasan by over 92,000 votes. Kairana LS constituency comprises five Assembly seats – Nakur, Gangoh (both in Saharanpur) and Kairana, Thana Bhawan and Shamli (all three in Shamlidistrict).ofthesefiveseats, the BJP and RLD won two each and the fifth went to the SP in the last Assembly polls.