The Jama Masjid in Delhi, a Mughal-era structure, is located just a few paces from the Parliament building and has come to be known as the ‘Parliament-wali masjid’. Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi, the imam of the masjid, has for years been a bridge between the people and the political leaders who would come to the mosque to pray. The 48-year-old Nadvi has now covered the short distance between the place of worship and the temple of democracy by becoming the first imam to get elected to the Lok Sabha.
Nadvi was handpicked by Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav to contest from Rampur and he stuck to his decision despite reservations expressed by jailed party leader Azam Khan, who has dominated the politics of the region for decades. There was some element of drama, too, as the documents required for filing nomination were despatched to Rampur on a chartered flight on the final day of nomination.
The newly minted MP was born and brought up in Razanagar village of Rampur district. He now plans to divide his time between his duties at the Jama Masjid and his constituency. “Akhilesh ji gave me the confidence to take up this responsibility. He said I had served the masjid for a long time, and now I should serve the people of Rampur, too,” said Nadvi.
About the campaign, Nadvi said he focused on issues such as education, health and employment which affected people from all communities. He said it was a matter of great satisfaction to him that not a single FIR was registered in Rampur this time for any election-related violence or incident. “As an imam, I had to ensure that rules were followed. If rules were flouted during my campaign, it would have sent a wrong message,” he said.
Nadvi hopes that Parliament will function in the same spirit and not get disrupted because of divisions between the ruling side and the opposition.