In Rampur, Moradabad, SP scrambles to clear air amid confusion, discontent over candidates

Rampur

The matter came to a head in Rampur on Tuesday evening when the SP local cadre announced it was going to boycott the polls from the seat.

SP sources said that party supremo Akhilesh Yadav had visited Azam Khan, the now-jailed former MP from the seat, at the Sitapur prison on Friday. At the meeting, Khan had reportedly requested Yadav to contest from Rampur. The local cadre, which still owes allegiance to Khan, was expecting this would be the case.

However, come Wednesday, the SP leadership sprang a surprise when it sent party state president Naresh Uttar Patel to accompany Muslim cleric and debutant Mohibullah Nadvi to Rampur. Nadvi then filed his nomination papers.

After filing his nomination on the SP’s symbol, Nadvi said that Khan was his “well-wisher” and that he prayed for him.

Meanwhile, Asim Raja, who is among Khan’s closest confidants and had contested the bypoll in Rampur Lok Sabha seat in 2022, also filed his nomination.

“I have filed a nomination. If some maulana, or pandit has also filed, then it is their right. This is democracy. The nomination process is ongoing. Nothing is final. It will become clear who will contest,” Raja said.

Asked if he filed the nomination on Yadav’s instructions, Raja said, “Who else will I file on behalf of? Who is my leader? Akhilesh ji is my leader and so is Azam Khan. There is no problem if two people file nominations. The party which has support from the people has several candidates.”

However, Virendra Goel, the SP’s Rampur district unit chief, told The Indian Express that Raja has filed as an Independent candidate. SP national spokesperson Rajendra Choudhary also confirmed the same, saying that the decision was taken by the party’s top leadership.

Nadvi’s candidature has stunned many within the SP’s Rampur cadre. As per party leaders, Nadvi is a native of Rampur’s Raza Nagar village, which falls under the Suar Tehsil. Nadvi is the cleric of the mosque on Parliament Street in New Delhi and is said to share a good relationship with several MPs, including Sambhal MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq, who passed away in February this year.

“He (Nadvi) is not very well known in Rampur, but let’s see how he does in elections. He has the backing of the top SP leadership and may do well considering that Rampur has a sizeable Muslim population. The community will decide who wins from the seat if the elections are fair,” said an SP leader.

In the 2019 polls, Khan had defeated BJP’s Jaya Prada by 1.09 lakh votes. The seat, however, fell vacant after he was convicted in a hate speech case. The BJP’s Ghnshyam Lodhi won it in the 2022 bypoll, defeating Raja by 42,192 votes.

Moradabad

Meanwhile, in Moradabad, SP leader Ruchi Veera filed her nomination Wednesday. ST Hasan, who had won the seat in 2019, had filed his nomination from the same seat a day earlier. Hasan’s ticket was however reportedly cancelled after the SP leadership’s intervention.

SP national spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI that Hasan’s ticket has been cancelled and that in his place former Bijnor MLA Veera has been made the party candidate.

After filing her nomination, Veera said, “What should I say? All of you should congratulate me (for filing the nomination). I have filed my nomination from the SP. You should speak to the returning officer and party officials regarding the rules.” She is considered close to Azam Khan.

In the 2019 elections, Hasan had won the Moradabad seat after defeating the BJP’s Kunwar Sarvesh Kumar by a margin of 98,122 votes.

“After the second nomination was filed today by Ruchi Veera, she is official candidate of SP from the seat. Form A and B, which was submitted by ST Hasan a day before along with his candidature, has been cancelled by the party. New form A and B, supporting candidature of Ruchi Veera as SP official candidate has been received (from SP) in place of ST Hasan. Thus, Ruchi Veera is the official candidate,” said Manvendra Singh, the district magistrate of Moradabad.

Meanwhile, there is resentment in a section of the SP over its decision to replace Hasan with Veera in the Moradabad seat.

SP Rajya Sabha MP Javed Ali Khan took to social media to allege that Moradabad has come under influence of Rampur, indicating that the decision has been influenced by Azam Khan.