Southern States - Karnataka

F.M. Khan seeks Cong. nomination

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore May 4. F.M. Khan, former Congress member of the Rajya Sabha, who had almost become a cipher in State politics, is attempting a comeback by seeking the Congress ticket for the May 31 byelection to the Legislative Assembly from the Narasimharaja constituency in Mysore city.

Mr. Khan's name figures in the list of candidates shortlisted by the KPCC for the selection of the party nominee. The byelection has been necessitated by the death of the former minister, Aziz Sait. It is being stated in Congress circles that among the candidates under consideration, Mr. Khan alone has the stature. Though hailing from Kodagu District, he is not unfamiliar with Mysore as he was educated there.

Mr. Faiz Mohammed Khan is stated to have written a letter to the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, explaining the reason for his decision to return to active politics. For some years now, he had reconciled himself to remaining out of politics, and was only issuing occasional statements. But the killings in Gujarat had brought the country to the worst phase of communalism after Independence.

But the important point Mr. Khan has made is that he had noticed the trend towards alienation of Muslims from the Congress, and it was making an impact on elections. The loss of the Kanakapura Lok Sabha seat was an example. He has not spared the State Government, when he said that the damage to some of the mosques in Kodagu District in the past few months during communal trouble had highlighted the failure of the authorities. He felt a strong urge to return to active politics in view of the present situation. The former MP has also pointed out that after the death of Aziz Sait, who was the Chairman of the State Minorities Commission, there were no Muslim legislators from the districts of Mysore, Mandya and Hassan. The people of Mysore had requested him to contest the Narasimharaja byelection. Mr. Khan has further written that, with his secular credentials, he could bank on the support of all sections of the people, not merely Muslims.

Mr. Khan, who is 65, was a close associate of the former Chief Minister, R. Gundu Rao, and was identified with the Sanjay Gandhi brigade. He entered politics in the mid-Sixties, during the anti-Hindi agitation. He later joined the Congress led by Indira Gandhi and was the General Secretary of the State Youth Congress.

He was a member of the Legislative Council from 1974 to 1976 and was elected to the Rajya Sabha twice in 1976 and 1982. Mr. Khan was also associated with various organisations connected with sports. He was Vice-President of the Indian Olympic Association.

The other contenders for the Congress ticket from Narasimharaja are Sandesh Nagaraj, Chairman of the Mysore Urban Development Authority, Muktharunnissa Begum, former MLC, and Tanveer Sait, one of the sons of Aziz Sait. Since Mr. Nagaraj has only recently been rewarded with the post of Mysore Urban Development Authority Chairman though he is a newcomer to the Congress, his chances of being fielded are considered slim, according to Congress sources. The Narasimharaja seat has a large Muslim population, about 40 per cent, and the Congress is likely to field a candidate from the community.

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