Congress candidate from Bareilly Supriya Aaron had also recently left the party for a ticket from the Samajwadi Party.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Allies in Uttar PradeshApna Dal (Sonelal) on Sunday declared Haider Ali Khan as its candidate from Suar assembly constituency in Rampur district.
Mr Khan was earlier announced on January 13 as the Congress candidate from the Suar assembly constituency. Mr Khan’s father Nawab Kazim Ali Khan is still in the Congress and has to contest the assembly elections from the neighboring Rampur seat.
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Mr Khan is the second Congress candidate to quit the party after his candidate was announced, the first being Supriya Aaron, the candidate from Bareilly Cantonment who joined the Samajwadi Party on Saturday.
Apna Dal (Sonelal) national spokesperson Rajesh Patel told PTI on Sunday, “The party has decided to field Haider Ali Khan as its candidate from the Suar assembly seat.” He said, “Mr Khan had joined Apna Dal (S) a few days back after being impressed by the party leadership in Delhi. Congress had already declared him the party’s candidate from Pig.”
Mr Khan’s name was in the first list of Congress candidates announced on January 13.
Earlier in the 2017 assembly elections, Abdullah Azam Khan, son of Samajwadi Party veteran and Rampur MP Azam Khan, had contested and won the Suar assembly seat as a SP candidate.
Explaining his reasoning for joining Apna Dal(S), Mr Haider Khan told PTI, “I joined Apna Dal(S) so that I can ensure the development of my constituency.” “I am inspired by the struggle of my party leader Anupriya Patel. In the last five years, the UP government has done tremendous work,” he said.
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“A bridge which was demolished by Azam Khan was repaired by this government. There are many factors that prompted me to make this decision.”
Haider’s father Nawab Kazim Ali Khan said when asked about his son leaving Congress and whether he would do the same PTI, “I am still the Congress candidate from Rampur. And, I have no plans to quit the party.” On Saturday, Congress candidate from Bareilly Cantonment Supriya Aron had joined the Samajwadi Party in Lucknow in the presence of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Ms. Aaron, former Mayor of Bareilly, joined the SP along with her husband and former Congress MP Praveen Singh Aaron.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav announced his candidature from the same seat, replacing Rajesh Agrawal, who was earlier declared the SP candidate.
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Journalist-turned-politician Supriya Aaron was named in the first list of Congress candidates announced by party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on January 13.
Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases from February 10 to March 7 and the results will be declared on March 10.
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