The interesting 'battle', that has caught the attention of poll watchers, is between party hoppers Rasheed Masood, now a loyalist of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh, and his nephew Imran Masood, fast emerging as a powerful Congress face in the region.
In the state capital Lucknow, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is locked in a fierce battle with his uncle Shivpal Yadav for supremacy over the Samajwadi Party (SP). Nearly 500km away, another uncle-nephew duo is the grist of whispers and street gossip with the electoral fortunes of both the SP and the Congress at stake.
The interesting 'battle', that has caught the attention of poll watchers, is between party hoppers Rasheed Masood, now a loyalist of SP patriarch Mulayam Singh, and his nephew Imran Masood, fast emerging as a powerful Congress face in the region. Both uncle and nephew, who started off together, have switched parties with quicksilver, even bewildering, rapidity, making it difficult for even experts to keep track.
With the Congress and SP aligning for the elections beginning February 11, they are both on the same side of the electoral divide but tension simmers, say observers.
Revolving door
In 2013, six-time MP Rasheed, who was then with the Congress, became the first parliamentarian whose membership was stripped after being sentenced to four years in jail. This was soon after the Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers stand immediately disqualified if they are convicted for offenses that carry a sentence of more than two years.
Rasheed had been held guilty of fraudulently nominating undeserving candidates to MBBS seats allotted to Tripura in medical colleges from the central pool.
He had moved to the Congress from the SP two years earlier along with nephew Imran. This was in December 2011, just four months before the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
In September 2013, Imran returned to the SP following differences with Rasheed and was made SP candidate from Saharanpur.
After getting bail from the Supreme Court in January last year, Rasheed got in touch with top SP leaders who were desperately looking for a prominent Muslim leader following the Muzaffarnagar riots. At Rasheed's request, SP replaced Imran with his son Shazaan.
Imran was furious and immediately went back to the Congress, which was looking for a Muslim face.
Interestingly, in between all these comings and goings, Imran had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket. A couple of months before the elections held in the summer of 2014, a video had surfaced in March showing him allegedly threatening to kill BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Political observers here are keenly observing the 47-year-old who they believe is set to turn a heavyweight leader for the Congress, challenging even SP strongman Azam Khan. He is said to be a key part of the Congress' revival and outreach among Muslims, especially in western UP. The party also credited him for its surprising victory in the Deoband by-poll last year. He has been since been elevated as vice president of the state unit.
Rejecting that he has emerged as a polarised figure akin to BJP's Suresh Rana due to his 2014 hate speech, Imran said there was no comparison. "The statement, for which I am being blamed, was only targeted at a person, not for any community. My choice of words may have been wrong — may not have been polite. But my intention was not wrong. Our ideological tussle with Narendra Modi remains, we cannot forget that," Imran told DNA.
Both uncle and nephew are now arch rivals. While the rise of Akhilesh, who rebelled against his father Mulayam, and his tie-up with the Congress has led to Uncle Rasheed's fortunes dwindling, Imran's graph has soared. Those close to Rasheed say he is just waiting for events to take a turn in Lucknow and is hoping that Mulayam and his brother Shivpal will strike back.
After failing even to accommodate his son Shazaan in the alliance, whereby Imran not only succeeded in getting a nomination for himself but for his brother as well, Rasheed has gone into a shell, refusing any media interactions or interviews.
The numbers
The uncle-nephew due has considerable influence in nine districts of western UP –Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Baghpath, Meerut, Hapur, Ghaziabad, Noida and Bulandshaher— that comprises 44 assembly seats. In 2012, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had emerged the winner with 15 seats, BJP got 12 while SP ended up with 10 seats. Congress got four while Ajit Singh Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) won on three seats. After the 2013 communal riots, the BJP swept the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The RLD appears to be history in the region.
In 2012, the SP had failed to win a single seat in Shamli, Baghpat, Ghaziabad and Noida. Though the area has good population of Muslims, SP has so far failed make a dent. The BJP has entrusted union minister Sanjeev Baliyan from Muzaffarnagar with the responsibility of retaining Jat voters.
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