Although Imran Masood has become the Lok Sabha MP for the first time now, he has been a prominent face in western Uttar Pradesh politics for several years. In the recent Lok Sabha polls, Masood, 54, won from the Saharanpur constituency on the Congress ticket, defeating the BJP's Raghav Lakhanpal by 64,542 votes, with the BSP's Majid Ali finishing third. Masood is carrying forward the political legacy of his family, which has been influential in the Saharanpur belt for decades. Known earlier for his controversial remarks, he worked on his image as a Muslim hardliner over the last few years, refraining from commenting on the communal issues. Instead, he tried to reach out to Hindu voters, and was often seen saying, “Ram milenge maryada se jeene mein, Ram milenge Hanuman ke seene mein (You will find Ram by living with dignity and in Hanuman's heart).” Last week, Masood inaugurated a “Kanwar camp” in his constituency for “Shiv Bhakt Kanwariyas", where he served them food and fruits. Masood's great-grandfather Qazi Qayum Ahmed was elected the chairman of Gangoh area in 1923, while his grandfather Qazi Masood Ahmed served as the Gangoh Nagar Palika Parishad chairman for over 27 years before he got elected as an Independent MLA from Nakur in 1969. Imran's father Rashid Masood, too, served as the Gangoh Municipality chairman. However, he was inspired by his uncle Rasheed Masood, who was elected MP for the first time from Saharanpur in 1977, getting elected for the fifth term from the seat as a Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate in 2004. Imran Masood entered the mainstream political arena by contesting the election for the Saharanpur Nagar Palika Parishad in 2001. By 2006, he became its chairman. In 2007, he was elected as the MLA for the first time as an Independent candidate from the Muzaffarabad Assembly seat (known as Behat since the 2008 delimitation). Over the years, Masood grew out of the shadow of his uncle, and in 2012, he was picked by the Congress as a youth face in Rahul Gandhi’s team. The same year, he contested the election from the Nakur Assembly seat, but lost to the BSP’s Dharam Singh Saini in a close fight. Just before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, a video clip surfaced, in which Masood was seen purportedly threatening Narendra Modi, then the PM candidate of the BJP, as he blamed the BJP and the RSS for the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. A case was registered against him for hate speech. In the Lok Sabha polls that followed, he lost to the BJP's Raghav Lakhan Pal. Masood's electoral setbacks continued in the 2017 Assembly and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, in which he lost to the BJP and the BSP, respectively. Ahead of the 2022 UP Assembly polls, Masood ended his association with the Congress to join the SP. But in October that same year, he left the SP to join the BSP, where he was immediately named its coordinator for western UP by party supremo Mayawati, with additional responsibility of working among Muslims in Uttarakhand. But in August 2023, Mayawati expelled Masood from the party on charges of indiscipline and "anti-party activities", following which he returned to the Congress. Sources in the BSP said the party leadership was upset with some of his media statements, in which he praised top Congress leaders. Speaking to The Indian Express, Masood said, “I have grown up in a political family. I began with student union politics in 1987 when I took admission in Lucknow University for my graduate degree. I am taking ahead my family legacy, to serve the people of Saharanpur, UP, and society at large.” Sharing his experience of the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, the Congress MP said, “It was encouraging. I got cooperation in Parliament. Senior members from across parties supported the new members. When I concluded my House speech on the Presidential address, several BJP MPs, including two ministers, appreciated it and said, aap bahut achcha bole.” In Parliament's ongoing Budget session, Masood has several questions listed. He is also going to table a private member's Bill. “So far I have not got any opportunity to speak on the Union Budget, but I'll do so during the discussion on demand for grants,” he said. “Whenever I get to speak in the House over the next five years, I plan to utilise the time. For Saharanpur, my first concern is health services. I have sought time from the Union Health Minister to discuss it,” Masood said. About the discussions and proceedings held in the House so far, he said, “Undoubtedly, Rahul Gandhi ji (Leader of Opposition) made a superb opening speech. This time, the government won't be able to ride roughshod. The Opposition is in a strong position.”
