Uttar Pradesh: Imran Masood's Return Beneficial For Congress On Seat-Sharing Negotiation Table Within INDI Alliance

After more than a year and a half since his departure, former Congress national general secretary Imran Masood rejoined the party on Saturday (7 October).

He was welcomed with a flower bouquet in the presence of organisation general secretary KC Venugopal, Uttar Pradesh state president Ajay Rai and national secretary Pradeep Narwal at Congress Headquarters in Delhi.

Despite Masood being a significant figure in and around Saharanpur, he is likely to give Congress an upper hand only in the seat-sharing negotiations within INDI Alliance in western UP, rather than helping the party to win seats.

This is because Masood's own electoral record hasn't had any victories in the past many years. He started his political journey in 2006 by winning as the Chairman of Saharanpur Municipal Corporation. In 2007, he sought a ticket from the SP for the legislative assembly elections.

When he did not receive the ticket, he entered the field as an independent candidate and won from Muzaffarabad, a constituency, in Saharanpur district, non-existent now after the 2008 delimitation. From 2007 to 2012, he served as an MLA.

Just before the 2012 UP assembly elections, he joined the Congress. Contesting on the Congress ticket from Nakur, he faced defeat. In 2014, Imran Masood switched allegiance once again, joining the SP and contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Saharanpur on the SP ticket, only to be defeated once more.

In 2017, he returned to the Congress and contested again from Nakur on a Congress ticket but lost to Dr Dharam Singh Saini of the BJP. He again contested Lok Sabha election from Saharanpur in 2019 on Congress ticket but lost again.

However, he remained with the party until 2022 and then had shifted to the SP in January 2022 before the state assembly elections. He later joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in October of the same year.

However, he was expelled from the BSP in August for indiscipline and anti-party activities as he praised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.

While Masood's last victory was in the 2007 assembly elections, he cannot be dismissed easily because of the vote share he gets and the political influence within the Muslim community that forces parties to give him a ticket.

He lost the 2012 and 2017 assembly elections by a margin of just around 2 per cent votes both times. The 2014 Lok Sabha election was lost by a margin of around 5 per cent votes.

While he came third in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, his vote share was much larger than the difference between the top two contestants, which ultimately led to the BJP's defeat against the BSP.

Now it is likely that Masood will be the INDI Alliance's candidate from Saharanpur for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Congress leaders believe Masood's return will enhance the party's standing in the Saharanpur area.

Expressing his decision to rejoin the Congress, Masood termed it as his "homecoming." He explained that he initially left the Congress due to pressure from his supporters but now feels the time is right to make a comeback.

Masood hails from an influential family and the Congress plans to benefit from having a leader of Masood's stature, particularly within the Muslim community in western UP. Masood had expressed his support for the idea of statehood for western UP, similar to BJP leader Sanjeev Balyan.

Masood clarified that his demand for statehood and a High Court bench in western UP was unrelated to anyone else's agenda, asserting that it has been a longstanding demand of his workers for two decades. Despite the previous challenges that led to his departure, he expressed his readiness to raise these demands after rejoining the Congress.

Regarding his role in the party and the possibility of contesting parliamentary elections, the 52-year-old stated, "My first task will be to strengthen the Congress in western UP. As for other roles, I will accept whatever the party leadership decides for me," Indian Express reported.

Known for his outspokenness, Masood has advocated for alliances with different parties, whether it was in favor of an alliance with the SP when he was in the Congress or suggesting the BSP's inclusion in the INDI Alliance when he was with Mayawati's party.

Sources within the Congress suggested that Masood had left the party last year due to the failure to secure tickets for his close associates. His political journey led him from the SP to the BSP, where he held a leadership position in West UP and engaged with the minority community in Uttarakhand.

Masood gained prominence in 2014 after a viral video showed him making strong statements against then-prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi during an election speech in Saharanpur.

His popularity and sway over minority votes in and around Saharanpur make him a valuable asset for the Congress, which aims to leverage these strengths in the upcoming elections following its dip in vote share in the 2022 Assembly polls.