Azam Khan's close aide is SP candidate for bypoll to Rampur Lok Sabha seat

Senior Samajwadi Party leader Muhammad Azam Khan's close aide Asim Raja will be the party's candidate for the June 23 by-election to the Rampur Lok Sabha seat.

Khan on Monday announced his name here at the party office, Darr-ul-Awam, which means the house of common people.

The announcement came days after party president Akhilesh Yadav met Khan at a Delhi hospital and the two, according to sources, discussed the by-election to the Rampur seat.

The seat fell vacant after Khan's election to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly this year, necessitating the by-election.

Addressing a gathering here, Khan said people might have thought he was going to field his wife as she had obtained the nomination papers.

''We decided to set an example. So, I have chosen my old companion who has a rich political experience and his name is Asim Raja,'' Khan said.

He appealed to all SP workers and local leaders to work to ensure Raja's victory.

An emotional Khan also spoke about his time in jail, where he spent over two years. He thanked the Supreme Court for granting him interim bail.

Raja has been associated with Khan for the past 40 years, even before the formation of the SP. Raja is the city president of the SP for the past eight years. In 1989, he had contested the civic polls in Rampur.

He got his Master's degree in political science from Raza Postgraduate Degree College in Rampur in 1981.

Speaking to PTI, 64-year-old Raja said, ''I have participated in all movements and protests with Azam Khan, whether it was a 'jail bharo andolan' or any other protest held by Azam Khan sahab. I was always the chief election agent of Azam Khan in every election, be it the Assembly or Lok Sabha elections.'' He said in December last year, he surrendered before a court and was sent to jail after he was declared wanted by police in a case related to the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests in 2019. Raja was later released on bail by a Rampur court.

Speaking to reporters, Raja thanked Khan for reposing his faith in him.

He exuded confidence that he will win the by-election with the support of the people of Rampur, who have always stood by Khan and will continue to stand by him.