Azam Khan’s wife Fatima rejects Mulayam’s Rajya Sabha ticket offer

Earlier, in February, Fatima had rejected Akhilesh’s offer to appoint her as chairperson of Higher Education Service Comm.

Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav,Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and cabinet Minister Azam Khan. (IE Photo: Vishal Srivastav)

Senior UP minister Azam Khan’s wife Tazeen Fatima Friday turned down Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s offer to nominate her to Rajya Sabha.

Earlier, in February, Fatima had rejected Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s offer to appoint her as chairperson of Higher Education Service Commission.

Mulayam had issued six names — Ramgopal Yadav, Chandrapal Singh Yadav, Ravi Prakash Verma, Neeraj Shekhar, Javed Ali Khan and Dr Tazeen Fatima — for the election to the Upper House from Uttar Pradesh.

Soon after the list was released in Delhi, Fatima, who was in Rampur, refused the offer and issued a statement that any other deserving candidate who has been left out should be given the chance.

She, however, reaffirmed her faith in Mulayam and thanked him for offering her the Rajya Sabha ticket.

The move even as it created a buzz at the SP office in Lucknow could not be decoded by state level leaders.

“It is up to our national president Mulayam Singh Yadav to take decisions,” said SP’s state spokesperson Rajendra Choudhary.

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Sources in the SP claimed that Azam, who is also a member of central parliamentary board, did not attend the meeting.

Sources even said Fatima may file the nomination. Another speculation is that Azam took the step after the recent bonhomie between his critic Amar Singh and Mulayam
The SP has put two Muslims (Tazeen Fatima and Javed Ali Khan), two Yadavs (Ramgopal Yadav and Chandrapal Singh Yadav), a Kurmi (Ravi Prakash Verma who is a former MP from Kheri) and a Thakur (Neeraj Shekhar, the son of former PM Chandrashekhar) on the list.
Though the name of Ashok Bajpayee, a Brahmin, was doing the round, the SP decided against it after it is said to have failed to get the community’s support during the Lok Sabha elections.

Ramgopal Yadav, who is Mulayam’s cousin and member of Rajya Sabha, and Ravi Prakash Verma are member of central parliamentary board that had to decide on the candidates.

With its numerical strength, the SP can get its six candidates elected. It did not field estranged SP leader Amar Singh who is also retiring from Rajya Sabha. Now chances of Amar Singh filing nomination as seventh independent candidate are bleak.

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Ten seats from UP for Rajya Sabha are going to polls on November 20.
As per numerical strength of parties, SP can get six seats, BSP two seats and BJP and Congress-RLD combine can get one seat each.