Rampur (Uttar Pradesh): As Uttar Pradesh voted in 55 assembly segments in its second phase of the seven-phase election on Monday, February 14, the district of Rampur was the cynosure of all eyes.
The reason for this is twofold:
One, the tallest leader from the Muslim community in the state, Azam Khan, hails from this district and holds considerable political clout, who is known for swinging elections.
Two, the battle in Rampur district – which has five assembly seats of Suar, Chamraua, Bilaspur, Rampur and Milak – in a way turns into a matter of prestige for the Azam Khan family and the Nawab Kazim Ali Khan family. Both families hold considerable sway over the political landscape in the district.
Interestingly, this time around, Azam Khan of the Samajwadi Party faced off against Nawab Kazim Ali Khan, who contested on a Congress ticket from the Rampur assembly segment. On the other hand, Azam Khan’s son, Abdullah Azam Khan, on an SP ticket, took on Nawab Kazim Ali Khan’s son Haider Ali Khan, who was an Apna Dal (Sonelal) nominee from the Suar assembly constituency.
Azam Khan: Controversies and clout
Having won nine assembly elections from the Rampur segment and being elected as one of the five Samajwadi Party MPs in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the Rampur parliament segment, a lot is at stake for the Khan family this time around too in the district.
Azam Khan has often made news for his controversial remarks. From his sexist remarks against BJP MP Rama Devi in parliament to his controversial comments against his political rival Jaya Prada during the 2019 election campaign, he has often made news for the wrong reasons. In fact, his remarks are often believed to have helped the BJP to polarise the elections.
Also read: Who’s Afraid of Azam Khan? Of 87 FIRs Pending, 84 Filed Since Yogi Became UP CM
Currently, he is in jail on more than 80 charges, ranging from land grab to goat theft. Many believe that his being in jail is a blessing in disguise for the Samajwadi Party since his remarks have often caused trouble for the party.
Speaking on his imprisonment, Uttar Pradesh Congress’s minority department chairman Shahnawaz Alam said, “Samajwadi Party didn’t make any effort to get Azam Khan out of jail. It has struck a deal to protect Ramgopal Yadav from going to jail in a corruption case pertaining to the Noida Development Authority. It has sacrificed Azam Khan to protect Ramgopal Yadav. Samajwadi Party’s top leaders didn’t take out a single protest to get Azam Khan released. Muslims in the state have realised that when Akhilesh Yadav couldn’t stand for his own party’s leader, how would he stand for the community.”
Of the five assembly seats in the Rampur district, in 2017, the Samajwadi Party won three seats in the district, namely Suar, Chamraua and Rampur while the BJP emerged victorious in Bilaspur and Milak.
Clash of families
Another family that has considerable influence in the region is the Nawab family of Rampur. The rivalry between the Khan family and the Nawab family is old and well known.
Interestingly, the Suar seat in the district was held by Nawab Kazim Ali Khan (popularly known as ‘Naved Mian’) from 2002 to 2017. This time his son Haider Ali Khan (also known as ‘Hamza Mian’) is contesting on an Apna Dal (Sonelal) ticket – as the first Muslim NDA (National Democratic Alliance) candidate in Uttar Pradesh since 2014 – and is pitted against Abdullah Azam Khan, representing Samajwadi Party.
Haider Ali Khan (L) and Abdullah Azam Khan (R). Photo: Facebook. Illustration: The Wire.
Initially, Haider Ali Khan secured a Congress ticket from the same seat, but he jumped ship to join Apna Dal (Sonelal), probably, to woo Hindu voters in the region.
The senior Nawab (Naved Mian), however, is contesting on a Congress ticket from Rampur against Azam Khan. In 2017, Naved Mian contested from Suar on a BSP ticket and lost to Abdullah Azam Khan. But Naved Mian went to court against Abdullah, alleging that the latter had used “false documents” during the filing of nomination. Eventually, Abdullah’s membership from the assembly was annulled by the Allahabad high court in 2019, but no by-election has been held since then.
So, it’s father versus father in the Rampur segment, and son versus son in the Suar assembly segment. It isn’t just a political battle but a matter of prestige for both families.
Other assembly seats
The contest in the Chamraua seat also turned out to be interesting. Samajwadi Party’s Naseer Ahmad Khan faced off former BSP MLA and the runner-up of the 2017 election Ali Yusuf Ali, who ran as a Congress candidate this time. While BJP fielded Mohan Kumar Lodhi, BSP tried its luck with Abdul Mustafa Husain. BJP candidate Lodhi is hoping to capitalise on the probable division of votes in this Muslim-dominated seat.
Interestingly, Ali Yusuf Ali also left Congress after the announcement of his candidature but returned after he was denied a ticket by the Samajwadi Party.
The two seats that went to the BJP in the 2017 elections from this district were Bilaspur and Milak. The contest in Bilaspur, experts believe, is expected to be bipolar between BJP’s sitting legislator Baldev Singh Aulakh and two-term Congress MLA Sanjay Kapoor. BJP won this seat in 2017 for the first time since 1991.
After a year-long farmers’ protest, Yogi Adityanath cabinet’s only Sikh minister and sitting legislator Baldev Singh Aulakh faces an uphill task to retain this seat, where there is a sizeable Sikh community.
The contest in Milak (a reserved seat) will be again between Samajwadi Party and the BJP. Rajbala sitting BJP legislator will face former Samajwadi Party MLA Vijay Singh, in a contest which is more or less expected to be bipolar. While BJP would be looking to at least hold on to its 2017 tally if it can’t be improved further, Samajwadi Party would be eyeing to sweep the district to make a statement for its leader languishing in jail.
