Lucknow: With the Congress deciding against fielding a candidate in Rampur by-poll in Uttar Pradesh, its disgruntled party leader, and ex-minister Kazim Ali Khan alias Naveed Mian has said he will “oppose Azam Khan and Samajwadi Party” in the upcoming Lok Sabha bypoll. In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, Kazim said the Congress should have fielded him in the polls scheduled on June 23 given that the party has over 50 Lok Sabha members while the SP has only a few.
“It has badly hurt the Congress party. I was ready to file the nomination. But after the party decided against fielding a candidate, I filed a nomination as an independent. We will have to grab our party votes,” he said while maintaining that he was “not leaving Congress”. Kazim said he will “oppose” SP and its leader Azam Khan, who has fielded his aide Asim Raja in the polls.
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Commenting on Azam Khan's decision, Kazim said, “He thought if his wife lost, it would be a slap on his face. Out of fear, he fielded his servant”. Kazim also called Azam 'communal” saying he was responsible for communal riots in Muzaffarnagar Azam. “Muslims suffered the worst atrocities during the SP rule from 2014-to 17. As many as 750 NDPS cases were registered against Muslims".
Asked about the Congress's strategy of supporting SP to consolidate votes against the BJP, Kazim said, “Alliances make and break. There will be new equations in the new elections”. The Nawab family of Rampur has been associated with the Congress since independence. Naveed Mian's father Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Khan alias Miki Mian has been elected MP from Rampur four times by the Congress party.
After his death, Miki Mian's wife Begum Nurbano has twice been elected Member of Parliament. Kazim's apparently tacit support to the BJP is being seen as an advantage to the BJP.
