Shifaur Rehman, an AIMIM leader, has been granted custody parole ahead of the Delhi elections, according to reliable sources. A Jamia Millia Islamia alumnus who is part of Rehman’s campaign team stated that further details are still awaited.
Rehman is an accused in the Delhi riots case.
A former president of the Jamia alumni group, Rehman has been incarcerated since April 2020. After being nominated by Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), his wife, Noorine Fatima, has been campaigning on his behalf, urging residents to vote for her husband.
Shifaur Rehman’s custody parole follows a similar decision by the Supreme Court, which granted former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain custody parole ahead of the elections. Hussain has been allowed to leave jail for 12 hours each day from January 29 to February 3, with the Delhi Police stipulating that he must return before sunset, as per the jail manual.
It is understood that Shifaur Rehman will be actively campaigning during the election. As Asaduddin Owaisi and his team have been stationed in Okhla for the past few days, this development may not be favorable for Opposition leaders, particularly Okhla AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, who is seeking a third term.
Other candidates in the race include BJP’s Manish Chaudhry, Congress’s Areeba Khan, along with candidates from smaller parties and independents. Rehman’s team has been actively urging residents to support him, highlighting his ongoing incarceration and his commitment to the community’s cause.
According to a political observer, Rehman’s presence will further strengthen his chances following a successful rally and roadshow by Asaduddin Owaisi in Okhla. AIMIM is contesting two seats in Delhi: Okhla and Mustafabad.
AIMIM’s decision to contest the election from Okhla has already riled up Amanatullah Khan, who has comfortably won the seat in the last two terms. Khan has been telling residents that Asaduddin Owaisi’s party is a “vote cutter”, and that its presence will split the Muslim vote, ultimately benefiting the BJP. He has directly attacked Owaisi in public, comparing his contributions to those of the AIMIM leader. This has sparked a war of words between AIMIM leaders and Khan. In a recent exchange, AIMIM MLA Majid Hassan criticised Amanatullah Khan for daring to speak negatively about Owaisi.
The Okhla election is shaping up to be a three-way contest, with 55 per cent of the voters being Muslim. Concerned about the division of votes, both Asif Mohammad Khan and Amanatullah Khan have targeted Asaduddin Owaisi. In a media interaction, Asif, father of Areeb, accused Owaisi of contesting elections only in constituencies with a high Muslim population.
However, AIMIM has denied the allegation of being the “B Team of BJP,” with supporters asserting that in a democratic country, every party has the right to contest elections.
As the election enters a crucial phase, the war of words continues, with star campaigners flocking to Okhla to win over voters. On Tuesday, Congress leader and MP Rahul Gandhi visited Jamia Nagar to address a large gathering, while Asaduddin Owaisi is already active in the area. Former BJP leader Smriti Irani also visited Sarita Vihar to rally support for her candidate, Manish Chaudhry, whose wife is a three-time Councillor from the Sarita Vihar ward. Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is yet to visit Okhla as Amanatullah Khan is campaigning on his own.
