Shakeel Ahmad Khan, a senior Congress leader, will contest from Kadwa in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.
With rising competition from AIMIM and reduced Muslim representation by the NDA, his role is crucial in Seemanchal.
Khan has a long political career, from student leadership at JNU to heading the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan.
Shakeel Ahmad Khan: Congress’ Key Muslim Face In Seemanchal For 2025 Bihar Elections
As Bihar heads to the polls in 2025, Shakeel Ahmad Khan emerges as Congress’ pivotal leader in Seemanchal, aiming to consolidate minority votes amid rising competition from AIMIM.
Summary
Shakeel Ahmad Khan, one of the most prominent Muslim leaders of the Congress party in Bihar, is set to contest from the Kadwa Assembly seat in the upcoming state elections. With the NDA’s reduced Muslim representation, his candidacy assumes greater significance in strengthening the Mahagathbandhan’s appeal among minority voters.
Khan began his political journey as a student leader, being elected president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) in New Delhi in 1992. Despite being a member of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), he joined the Indian National Congress in 1999 and went on to serve as Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). During the tenure of the UPA-I government, he held the position of Director General of the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan—one of the largest youth organisations under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
He first ventured into electoral politics during the 2015 Assembly elections, contesting from the Kadwa constituency, and was re-elected from the same seat in 2020. In 2023, he was appointed as the CLP leader of the Congress Legislature Party of Bihar.
With the 2025 elections approaching, his role has become even more critical as the Congress seeks to strengthen its foothold in the Seemanchal region. Disruptors such as Asaduddin Owaisi’s All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) have gained momentum in the area since 2020. Around 28 percent of Bihar’s 2.31 crore Muslim population resides in Seemanchal, underscoring the strategic importance of Khan’s presence.
Khan had earlier told Outlook that “AIMIM is unlikely to get votes in the Seemanchal area this time. People are upset with them as several of their tickets were sold. MIM is not expected to win a single seat this time in Seemanchal. Their presence seems aimed at disturbing the region and splitting secular votes. MIM has fielded candidates in 25 seats in not just Seemanchal, but also North and South Bihar. Owaisi contested 19 seats in the Seemanchal region last time, winning five of them, but four of his MLAs left to join RJD.
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