UP Polls: Battle at Rampur between two royal families

Apna Dal candidate from Rampur, the erstwhile Rampur Nawab Qasim Ali alias Naved Miyan on Monday said unlike other places, the election in Rampur district is a battle between two royal families rather than two parties and that too on two seats.

"I have not ventured outside my seat of Rampur. Here, the polls are personality based, rather than party based. Anyone from our family contests, it is going to be a personality-based poll. This is an election between political and royal families rather than parties," Naved Miyan told IANS.

Rampur is among the nine districts in Uttar Pradesh that is voting in the second phase of UP elections on Monday.

Qasim Ali alias Naved Miyan is contesting against SP leader and former Minister Mohammad Azam Khan for the Rampur seat while at the Swar Tanda seat in the district, Azam Khan's son, Abdulla Azam is trying his luck against Qasim Ali's son Haider Ali Khan alias Hamza Miyan, who is fighting on Congress ticket.

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With assets worth Rs 296 crore, Qasim Ali is the second richest candidate in the second phase polls.

Stating that elections in his constituency are being fought on local issues, Naved Miyan said, "Post-Independence, my grandfather had donated land to start 52 factories in the area with a condition that locals get jobs there. Many of them have shut shop. When Azam Khan became the minister for the first time, he instigated a strike in a textile mill during which 1,800 people lost their jobs. Similarly, in other factories too. More than 6,000-7,000 people lost their jobs. I want to restart those factories and ensure livelihood for all."

Asked what the performance of Azam Khan would be - Azam Khan is contesting the polls from jail - Naved Miyan said, "Only those who have committed crime are behind the bars. He is in jail only because he has committed a crime and not because he is a political prisoner. What would the people benefit from? A person who cannot save himself, how can he save people?"

He denied that BJP candidates would benefit from incumbency. He also alleged that Azam Khan's son Abdulla Azam has embarked on his political career on the foundation of fraud.

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