With the Supreme Court denying actor Sanjay Dutt permission to contest the Lok Sabha polls, the Samajwadi Party on Sunday named former Miss India and social activist Nafisa Ali as the new party candidate from the Lucknow seat.
Dutt, who was appointed the party general secretary last week, announced Nafisa’s candidature in the presence of senior SP leader Amar Singh.
“It was Manyata (Sanjay Dutt’s wife) who suggested the name of Nafisa Ali for the Lucknow seat. We were hesitant because she has been in the Congress. When the party kept dilly-dallying over her candidature, we told her that she was welcome to contest the Lucknow seat on SP ticket, and she agreed,” Amar Singh told mediapersons.
Singh said though he did not wish to weaken the Congress by inducting Nafisa, he said the Congress never thought twice before bringing leaders like Beni Prasad Varma and Raj Babbar into its fold.
