BJP ally, Apna Dal (S) on Sunday, announced Haidar Ali Khan as its candidate from Suar in western Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur. Despite no official announcement on the seat-sharing arrangement for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the move is significant given that Khan is the first Muslim candidate to be fielded by the alliance since 2014.
He will be pitted against Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Abdullah Azam, who is the son of jailed MP Azam Khan. Previously, Abdullah Azam had been elected from Suar, but the Allahabad High Court had cancelled his election on the grounds that he was under 25 at the time of filing his nomination. His case has since been pending in the Supreme Court, and the Suar seat has remained vacant.
The Apna Dal is led by Anupriya Patel.
Haidar Ali Khan’s nomination is also loaded with political ripples. His grandfather, Zulfiqar Ali Khan was a five-term Congress MP from Rampur, and his father Nawab Kazim Ali Khan is a four-term MLA, and presently the Congress party’s candidate from Rampur.
Khan himself was previously named the Congress candidate from Suar, before he defected and became the candidate for Apna Dal (S). The UK-educated 36-year-old is also the natural scion of the Rampur royal family.
The Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh are scheduled from February 10 to March 10 and will be conducted in seven phases.
