Lucknow: The son of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) vice-chancellor and former key aide of PM Narendra Modi is among the six candidates nominated by the Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) posts.
A In the notification issued late on Monday night by Special Secretary Chandrashekhar, it has been said that the names of Rajinikanth Maheshwari, Saket Mishra, Lalji NirmalTariq Mansoor, Ramsurat Rajbhar and Hansraj Vishwakarma have been nominated by the Governor to the UP Legislative Council.
The nomination of AMU VC Tariq Mansoor, who was given a “rare” one-year extension till March 2022, is being seen as the BJP’s attempt to reach out to the Muslim community.
Another prominent name proposed is that of Saket Mishra, son of retired IAS officer Nripendra Mishra, who served as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister between 2014 and 2019.
Mishra, who was conferred the Padma Bhushan, the country’s third highest civilian award in 2021, has served as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman and telecom secretary. He is also President of Ram Mandir Construction Committee
SaketAn alumnus of IIM Calcutta and St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, is an investment banker and advisor to the Purvanchal Development Board.
Before the 2019 elections, he was a possible candidate for the BJP ticket from Shravasti Lok Sabha seat and was even quoted as saying that the decision to give the ticket lies with “God and the BJP leadership”. He will contest the election, give him the ticket or else serve the public.
However, the ticket eventually went to Daddan Mishra, who lost to BSP’s Ram Shiromani Verma.
The list has one Muslim, one Brahmin, one Vaish, two from the OBC community while one from the Dalit community.
A state BJP leader confirmed to ThePrint that these names were sent to the governor on the recommendation of the Yogi Adityanath government.
“Of the names, Mansoor is a Muslim face while Nirmal comes from the Dalit community. Rajbhar and Vishwakarma represent the OBC community. Mishra is a Brahmin while Maheshwari belongs to the Vaish community.
‘Nothing to be proud of’
Speaking to ThePrint, an AMU official, on condition of anonymity, said Mansoor was considered close to former UP chief minister late Kalyan Singh and was well-connected in the Aligarh region.
“He belongs to an educated family from Aligarh and has worked as a teacher for years. He taught at AMU’s JN Medical College and also became the head of the college in the 1980s. He also represented the sports association of AMU.
However, university insiders see his nomination as a “disappointment”, saying that AMU V-CS have held very high positions in the past.
“His becoming an MLC is not a matter of pride as AMU V-CS have held higher positions after serving in this institution. One of our V-C became the President of India (Dr. Zakir Hussain, 1967-69) while another vice president (Md. Hamid Ansari, 2007-17) … His becoming an MLC is probably a disappointment,” AMU professor Nadeem Razavi told ThePrint.
Meanwhile, among other candidates, Rajbhar has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP for decades and recently contested against them. SP’s Ramakant Yadav from Phulpur-Powai assembly seat. However, he lost that election.
Vishwavarma, known to be a Kalyan Singh loyalist, is currently serving as the Varanasi district president of the BJP.
Lalji Prasad Nirmal has held the posts President of Uttar Pradesh Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation and President of Bharat Ratna Dr. Ambedkar Cultural Center.
Maheshwari, who belongs to the Kasganj region, has served as the Braj region chief of the BJP and Used to be One of its star campaigners.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)