‘Lifelong Congress worker’ and 4-term MLA Zubair Khan passes away

Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, his predecessor Ashok Gehlot and others expressed condolence on Khan’s demise. “The news of the demise of Ramgarh MLA Shri Zubair Khan is extremely sad. My condolences are with his family in this hour of grief,” CM Sharma said.

“The demise of senior Congress leader and MLA Shri Zubair Khan is a matter of great sorrow for all of us. Shri Zubair Khan was fully committed to the development of his area and remained engaged in public service till his last breath. His demise is an irreparable loss. I pray to God to give peace to the departed soul and courage to the family members,” former CM Gehlot said.

Hailing from a family of farmers, Khan’s father Bagh Singh was a long time sarpanch in Alwar.

Khan was associated with the Congress from his student days and was a member of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). After completing his schooling from Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education in 1976, Khan enrolled in Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), New Delhi, from where he completed his Bachelor of Arts (BA), Master of Social Work (MSW), and then Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) by 1983. At JMI, Khan was elected president of the Students’ Union twice, in 1981 and 1984. It is said that he came in touch with Rajiv Gandhi during this period which led to him assuming good posts.

From early 1980s to around the year 2000, Khan held various posts in NSUI, Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and the Congress party, becoming NSUI state president in 1987.

In 1990, he was elected as an MLA for the first time after he won Ramgarh. He retained this seat in 1993, and was made the Deputy Chief Whip in the first Ashok Gehlot government.

Although he lost the seat in 1998, Khan was appointed Congress’s Alwar district president in early 2000s. In 2003, he was elected for a third term from Ramgarh Assembly. In this second Gehlot government, Khan was made the party’s Chief Whip in the Assembly.

He then lost the Assembly election in 2008 and 2013, and in 2018, the Congress party fielded his wife Shafia Zubair, who went on to win the election. In 2023, Shafia was dropped for Khan, who won this seat. Khan and Shafia had married in 1991 and the couple had two sons.

Terming Khan’s passing a “terrible tragedy”, Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said Khan “was a lifelong Congress worker who toiled day and night for our ideological mission.”

Throughout his life, Khan held various social posts and was also actively involved with the National Service Scheme (NSS). In the mid-1990s, he was also a member of the Central Board of Film Certification.

With Khan’s passing, seven Assembly seats are now vacant in Rajasthan. Five of these seats fell vacant following the election of five MLAs — all from the INDIA alliance — from Jhunjhunu, Dausa, Deoli-Uniara, Chorasi, and Khinwsar as Lok Sabha MPs. Then last month, BJP’s tribal MLA from Salumber in Udaipur, Amrit Lal Meena, had passed away following a cardiac arrest.

The Congress now has 65 seats in an Assembly of 200 against BJP’s 114, with Independents on 8, Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) on 3, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on 2, and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) on one.