Father in Congress, son leaves party to become NDA's first Muslim face in UP polls

BJP's ally in UP Apna Dal (Sonelal) on Sunday declared Haidar Ali Khan as its candidate from the Suar assembly constituency in the Rampur district. Khan was declared earlier on January 13 as the Congress candidate from the Suar assembly constituency. Khan's father Nawab Kazim Ali Khan is still in the Congress and is to fight the assembly elections from the neighbouring Rampur seat.

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh):In an interesting turn of events, BJP's ally in UP Apna Dal (Sonelal) has declared Haidar Ali Khan as its candidate from the Suar assembly constituency in the Rampur district barely two weeks after he was given a ticket by the Congress for the same constituency but ditched the grand old party to become BJP led NDA's first Muslim candidate since 2014.

Khan was declared earlier on January 13 as the Congress candidate from the Suar assembly constituency. Khan is pitted against Abdullah Azam, the son of jailed Samajwadi Party MP Azam Khan, who is expected to contest from Suar in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

Khan's father Nawab Kazim Ali Khan is still in the Congress and is to fight the assembly elections from the neighbouring Rampur seat. Haider is thus the first Muslim candidate fielded by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls. The BJP has already announced its poll-alliance with Apna Dal (S) and Nishad Party.

Khan is the second Congress candidate to leave the party after being declared its candidate, the first one being the candidate from Bareilly Cantonment, Supriya Aron who joined the Samajwadi Party on Saturday.

National spokesperson Rajesh Patel of Apna Dal (S) on Sunday said, "The party has decided to field Haidar Ali Khan as its candidate from the Suar assembly seat."

Khan took the membership of the Apna Dal (S) a few days ago in Delhi after being 'impressed' by the party leadership. The Congress had already declared him as the party candidate from Suar, he said. Khan had figured in the first list of Congress candidates declared on January 13.

Earlier in the 2017 assembly elections, Abdullah Azam Khan, son of veteran Samajwadi Party leader and Rampur MP Azam Khan, had fought from the Suar assembly seat as an SP candidate and had won it.

Explaining his rationale for joining the Apna Dal (S), Haidar Khan said, "I joined the Apna Dal (S) so that I can ensure the development of my constituency. I have been inspired by the struggle of my party leader Anupriya Patel. The UP government in the past five years has worked tremendously," he said.

"A bridge which was broken by Azam Khan was repaired by this government. There are various factors which prompted me to take this decision," he added. Asked about his son leaving the Congress and if he too would follow suit, Haidar's father Nawab Kazim Ali Khan said, "I am still the Congress candidate from Rampur. And, I have no plans to leave the party."

Read:UP Polls: Two Congress leaders leave the party even after getting tickets, while third one returns