Lucknow, March 29 (IANS): Majid Ali, brother of Kamaal R Khan – known for his controversial criticism of Indian film personalities – will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election from Saharanpur constituency on the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket.

Ali is the richest candidate in eight constituencies of the state going to the polls in the first phase on April 19, with declared total assets of around Rs 160 crores.

In 2019, Haji Fazlur Rehman of BSP won the Saharanpur constituency with a margin of more than 23,000 votes. However, he has been dropped from the list this time.

Back then BSP was in alliance with SP. However, this time SP has joined Congress, while BSP is contesting without any allies.

Majid Ali said that BSP will win the Saharanpur constituency with more than 5.50 lakh votes in the Lok Sabha polls

"We have done our calculations. In 2019 too, our candidate won due to our strong vote bank. Parties like the BJP are contesting elections on Ram Mandir and on communal lines, rather than on burning issues like unemployment, and education. If I win the election, I will raise the issue of unemployment in parliament and will make sincere attempts to generate job opportunities," he said.

Asked if Kamal R Khan is on the same page, Majid said, "Will discuss with Kamaal on this matter."

Family sources said that in 2016, when Majid Ali contested and won the panchayat elections, Kamaal had campaigned for him.

“This time the stakes are higher so Kamaal Bhai will definitely campaign and is also likely to bring his ‘friends’ from the industry here,” said a family member.

The people of Saharanpur are excited at the idea of seeing some film stars during the campaign as it has been years since film stars campaigned in Saharanpur.

“We are waiting to see who comes with Kamaal Bhai,” said Rafeeq, a distant member of the family.