UTTAR PRADESH :

Rampur :

On the way to Maswasi Village, where Azam was to hold a public meeting, Abdullah explains that he could have opted any other “easy” seat to launch his political career but his decision to contest from SwarTanda was taken because of public demand. “After the election commission imposed a ban on my father during the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, I addressed the public for the first time from Swar on the request of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.Since then, the public has been demanding that I should contest from here and bring development to the area,” said Abdullah, while showing roads, drains, bridges and electrification of few villages completed under his direction in the past three years.

“No candidate was interested in contesting from here, but I took it as a challenge and will create a record by defeating the nawab,” he added.

Abdullah, Azam and their convoy stopped at Maswasi village, where a crowd of nearly 10,000 was waiting for the two leaders to arrive.The father-son duo was given a grand welcome with the bursting of firecrackers and slogan-shouting.

In his two-minute speech, Abdullah said, “During campaigning, a man asked me when the road in his area would be constructed. And when I told him that the project had already been passed, he didn’t believe me as politicians from Noor Mahal (residence of the royal family of Nawab) and BJP always made false promises.”

Azam started his speech saying that his son does not have the experience of a seasoned politician but that Abdullah will soon learn the tricks of the trade.

“A family has always oppressed you and the time has come to show your power.Whatever money , clothes and food, they (royal family) have are yours,” said Azam.

After the end of the event, the local leaders pleaded to make way for Azam and his son to return to his vehicle.The crowd followed him even when he was seated in his car. They ran beside the car to shake hands with Azam and Abdullah as they drove out of the rally ground. In Swar-Tanda constituency, SP leader Azam Khan’s 26year-old son, Abdullah Azam Khan, will take on BSP’s Nawab Kazim Ali Khan, who is the present titular head of Rampur and four-time MLA.The junior Khan is relying on his father’s star power to draw votes. TOI trails the SP leader on one of the five evenings he promised to campaign for his son.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Chennai News> Kanpur News / Priyangi  Agarwal / TNN / February 10th, 2017