Apna Dal (Sonelal), an ally of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh, recently revealed that it would field former Congress party member Haider Ali Khan in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. This would mark the first time that the BJP-led NDA alliance will field a Muslim candidate in the state since 2014. He will be contesting from the constituency of Suar, Rampur in western Uttar Pradesh.

"I joined Apna Dal (S) so I can ensure the development of my constituency,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.

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Haider was given the ticket by the Congress party from Suar on January 13. But he became the second Congress candidate to leave the party ahead of the poll. The candidate from Bareilly Cantonment, Supriya Aron, also recently left Congress to join the Samajwadi Party.

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Haider finished his education from Modern School, Delhi, before going abroad for higher studies. He is an alumnus of Essex University, London. Haider is the son of Nawab Kazim Ali Khan, the Congress candidate for the Rampur constituency. Kazim is also the titular Nawab of Rampur and the son of Begum Noor Bano, veteran Congress leader and the former MP of Rampur. Kazim himself was an MLA from Suar.

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The family has been political rivals of Azam Khan, Samajwadi Party heavyweight and the one who finally defeated Kazim when he was an incumbent. Haider had once stated that Azam had destroyed a bridge that his family had built which connected rural areas.

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While Azam is currently in prison, facing a series of criminal charges, his son Abdullah Azam from the SP will take on both Haider and Kazim this time.

Haider had earlier contested in the 2017 elections from the BSP but lost to Abdullah by 65,000 votes and even came behind BJP’s Laxmi Saini, who secured 26 percent of the votes herself.

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(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)