RKSP to give Salem election ticket

Rashtriya Kranti Samajwadi Party, a key ally of Jan Morcha, on Tuesday announced its decision to field the incarcerated don Abu Salem from Mubarakpur assembly constituency in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh in the elections in the state later this year.

"We have decided to give ticket to Salem from Mubarakpur assembly constituency in the ensuing assembly polls in the state", RKSP President Gopal Rai told reporters in Varanasi. Rai defended his party's decision to give a ticket to Salem, extradited to India from Portugal in connection with 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, saying the don was not a criminal in the eyes of the law till he was found guilty by courts in any of the criminal cases.

The RKSP President said he had received feelers from Salem's lawyers expressing the former's desire to contest the upcoming assembly polls on RKSP ticket and the party accordingly decided to give ticket to Salem.

Rai said Salem's lawyers were making efforts to get his name registered in the voter list in Mubarakpur assembly segment.

Salem had recently floated a political party called Rashtriya Samajwadi Party but refused to occupy any positions in the organisation.

Salem's advocate Ashok Saravgi, who was named as general secretary of the newly-floated political outfit, was quoted as saying that Salem would take active part in party affairs if his name was cleared in criminal cases registered against him.