Former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Danish Ali, who joined the Congress last week, has been fielded from Uttar Pradesh's Amroha. Mr Ali, the sitting MP from Amroha, was suspended from the BSP for "anti-party activities".
Here are 5 facts about Danish Ali:
Danish Ali was born on April 10, 1975, to Jafar Ali and Nafees Jafar in Uttar Pradesh's Hapur. He completed his BSc (Honours) and Masters in Political Science from Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi.
Mr Ali began his political career with the Janata Dal (Secular) and rose to be the party's General Secretary. Once considered a close aide of former Prime Minister HD Devegowda, Danish Ali first hit headlines in 2017 when he helped Congress and JD(S) stitch an alliance in Karnataka. He also helped finalise the seat-sharing formula between the two parties for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
He contested his maiden Lok Sabha polls on a BSP ticket from Amroha in 2019. His decision to join the BSP had the blessings of JD(S) president HD Deve Gowda, who back then called it a "purely political arrangement between the two parties". He defeated BJP's Kanwar Singh Tanwar to register a win from Amroha.
In 2023, BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, on the floor of the Lok Sabha, made certain comments against Mr Ali. It led to massive outrage and a show-cause notice was issued to Mr Bidhuri, who, in a meeting of the Lok Sabha Privileges Committee, regretted making the comments.
In the last five years, Danish Ali has served as the leader of the BSP legislative party in the Lok Sabha from November 6, 2019 to January 13, 2020. He has served on several committees, including the ones on Public Undertakings, Estimates, and Industry. He was a member of the Standing Committee on Defence and Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs.
