SP faces trouble in Rampur, Moradabad over double candidates

Lucknow, March 27 (IANS) The Samajwadi Party is facing a piquant situation in two Lok Sabha constituencies -- Rampur and Moradabad -- in western UP with more than one candidate filing their nominations.

One candidate in each of the two constituencies owes allegiance to senior party leader Mohd Azam Khan while the other has reportedly been named by SP President Akhilesh Yadav.

In Moradabad, Akhilesh Yadav had renominated S T Hasan, the sitting MP, as the party candidate and the latter even filed his nomination.

According to sources, Azam Khan refused to accept S T Hasan’s candidature and made his views clear to Akhilesh Yadav who visited him in jail last week. He proposed the name of Ruchi Veera for the Moradabad seat.

Ruchi Veera, on Wednesday, filed her nomination papers and told reporters that she had been asked by Akhilesh Yadav to do so.

Moradabad, now, has two SP candidates.

A similar situation prevails in Rampur where Akhilesh has named Maulana Mohibullah Nadwi, Imam of the Jama Masjid at Parliament street, as the party candidate but around noon on Wednesday -- which is also the last date for filing nominations -- Asim Raza, a close aide of Azam Khan filed the nomination saying that he was the official party candidate.

The party workers in Rampur had even threatened to boycott the polls if they did not get a candidate of their choice.

Meanwhile, senior SP leader Shivpal Yadav has left for Sitapur to meet Azam Khan in jail and resolve the crisis.