On the 5th of May, Indian National Congress (INC) candidate Shakeel Ahmed was suspended from active elections for six years for anti parliamentary activities. This move comes after it was brought to the notice of the INC, that Shakeel was contesting not only on behalf of the INC, but as an independent contestant from Madhubani Lok Sabha constituency.
According to a release issued by the All India Congress Committee (AICC,) Shakeel was suspended with immediate effect for going against the party’s decision. “Mr Shakeel Ahmed, ex MP, has been suspended, with immediate effect, from the Congress party for contesting as an Independent candidate from the Madhubani Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar against the party’s decision,” the party said in a release.
Shakeel, who won the seat in 2004 from the Madhubani constituency, filed for nominations both independently and as a part of the INC. Both the nominations were filed from the Madhubani constituency.
Ahmed had to withdraw both his nominations after the INC refused to let him use the party symbol while casting his papers. Post Ahmed’s withdrawal, the open seat fell into the hands of the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) a party from the area, which has shown a recent growth.
Ahmed was a junior minister in former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s cabinet. Apart from this, Ahmed also held prominent positions as the Congress general secretary incharge of Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, in 2013.
Before his suspension, Ahmed repeatedly requested INC party president Rahul Gandhi either to let him use the party symbol or to support him as an independent contestant. According to Ahmed, VIP as a party was extremely weak in the area and if he had enough support from the INC, he could have easily secured the seat.
INC also suspended Bhavani Jha for supporting Ahmed and for taking decisions against the wishes of the INC.
Stay tuned for more updates.
