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- Published: February 15, 2023 17:50
New Delhi: Azam Khan’s family is out of power after Abdullah Azam Khan’s Assembly membership has been cancelled after he was convicted in a 15-year-old case. SP MLA from Rampur Suar Assembly was dragged out of power on February 15 and the seat has been declared vacant. This has given Uttar Pradesh’s ruling party, BJP, a chance to win the seat after they also won the Lok Sabha and the Rampur Sadar assembly seats last year.
Assembly membership of SP MLA Abdullah Azam Khan from Rampur Suar Assembly has been cancelled. The Legislative Assembly Secretariat declared the seat of Abdullah Azam vacant.
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— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) February 15, 2023
Abdullah was convicted for blocking traffic in 2008 and was sentenced to imprisonment for two years. The SP leader blocked traffic in protest after his car was halted at a police checkpost, a day after an attack on a CRPF camp in Rampur, which killed seven CRPF personnel and a civilian. He was found guilty under IPC Sections 341 and 353 and under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Smita Goswami sentenced Azam Khan and Abdullah to two years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 each. They were later released on bail.
The conviction led to the Azam Khan family going out of power in the state as the senior leader lost his Assembly membership after being convicted in a 2019 hate speech case. On the other hand, Azam Khan’s wife Tazeen Fatma did not contest the elections in 2022.
The cancellation of Abdullah Azam Khan’s membership is likely to lead to a big shift in Rampur’s politics. BJP has won the Rampur Suar seat four times between 1989 and 2002, and has a chance again.