Local leaders’ ‘no’ to female candidate

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 25 JUNE: Even as the district Congress president, Mr AH Khan Choudhury, is in a dilemma over the nomination for the Sujapur Assembly by-poll, local leaders of that area have adopted a resolution naming probable candidates for the seat.

When Mr Khan Choudhury, who is also the South Malda MP, attended a felicitation programme in honour of his victory at Sujapur on Tuesday, local leaders expressed unhappiness over the selection of a woman candidate for Sujapur Assembly constituency, and asked him not to nominate any woman candidate for the Assembly seat.

However, the late Rubi Noor, sister of ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury, had been elected as MLA for over two decades. After her demise, her daughter Miss Mausam Noor contested in the Sujapur by-poll in January and was elected MLA from Sujapur.

Miss Noor was also elected MP from North Malda in May and resigned from the state Assembly. At present, the South Malda MP Mr AH Khan Choudhury, brother of the late ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury, is in a dilemma over nominating someone for the seat, not least because some of the aspirants come from his own family.

Though the leaders of Sujapur have agreed to accept a candidate from Ghani Khan's family, the South Malda MP, who is also the district president, is undecided on who to select - although his son Mr Isha Khan, and his niece Miss Sahela Noor, another sister of Miss Mausam Noor, figure prominently in the contest for the post. However, both of the candidates were born in Canada and may face technical problems relating to their citizenship after the filing of nominations.

Taking advantage of the situation, another family member Miss Shehenaz Kadrir, a rival of Miss Mausam Noor's family, is trying hard to obtain a ticket for the by-poll. Miss Kadrir is also close to the South Malda MP.

Considering the present situation, the leaders of Sujapur have finally asked the South Malda MP to nominate either his elder brother Dr AN Khan Choudhury or a local leader from the Sujapur Assembly area, asking him not to nominate a woman candidate. The AICC had rejected the candidature of Dr AN Khan Choudhury over the Swiss citizenship issue and finally nominated Miss Mausam Noor for the North Malda parliamentary constituency. “Nothing has been finalised. A candidate will be selected after a meeting with district leaders. My elder brother may contest from Sujapur if he can ready all the papers to prove he is an Indian citizen before filing a nomination,” said Mr AH Khan Choudhury.