Rampur wants Ali, Bajrangbali but not Anarkali: Azam Khan's son Abdullah

In a relentless attack against Jaya Prada, Abdullah - son of Azam Khan - has opened a new front by referring to the actress-turned-politician as 'Anarkali' who would be rejected by people in Rampur parliamentary constituency.

Jaya Prada is contesting Lok Sabha election 2019 on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket in Rampur where she faces off against former Samajwadi Party colleague Azam Khan. While Azam Khan was previously slammed for making derogatory statements while alleging Jaya Prada had always had links with RSS, his son Abdullah too has been at the forefront in unchecked verbal attacks. "Rampur wants Ali as well as Bajrangbali but does not want Anarkali," he said at SP's final rally ahead of voting in the third phase.

While he did not directly name Jaya Prada, Abdullah's remark was seen as a jibe at the BJP candidate as well as against Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath who had previously been banned for campaigning for 72 hours for comments on religious lines.

A number of political leaders have made remarks on religious lines this election season with Abdullah too alleging that his father was temporarily banned from campaigning by the Election Commission because he is a Muslim.

Azam Khan had been handed a temporary ban from campaigning following his derogatory remarks against Jaya Prada. The bitter rivalry between the two has only worsened since Jaya Prada was named as the BP candidate from Rampur parliamentary seat which votes on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Amir/Zee Media Bureau)