Former Delhi minister Asim Ahmed Khan will contest assembly elections from the Matia Mahal seat on a Congress ticket. Mr Khan left the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined Congress in December 2024.
5 facts about Asim Ahmed Khan:
- A businessman by profession, Asim Ahmed Khan has a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from the Chaudhary Charan Singh University in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut. He had earlier served as a member of AAP's minority wing.
- Mr Khan shot into the limelight during the 2015 Assembly election when he emerged as a "giant-killer", defeating the then Congress candidate Shoaib Iqbal, who held the Matia Mahal seat for five consecutive terms. Asim Ahmed Khan secured a win by over 26,000 votes and became the Delhi minister for the Food and Civil Supplies and Environment department.
- In October 2015, barely months into the Arvind Kejriwal government's second tenure, Mr Khan was sacked as Cabinet minister for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 6 lakh to allow construction work in his constituency. He rejected the allegations and claimed that he was a victim of "internal politics" in AAP In July 2016, Asim Ahmed Khan accused Arvind Kejriwal and some of his party men of hatching a conspiracy to kill him.
- In 2019, Asim Ahmed Khan was appointed the chairman of the Delhi State Haj Committee. This came nearly four years after the CBI cleared him of corruption charges. In the 2020 election, AAP fielded Shoaib Iqbal from Matia Mahal, who managed to secure his sixth term.
- In December 2024, Mr Khan switched to the Congress party. He will now face Shoaib Iqbal, the man he defeated in 2015.
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