former-hockey-star-turned-Congress-candidate in Sagar in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.

Aslam Sher Khan was a member of the Indian hockey team that won the World Cup in 1975. He was also a member of the bronze medal-winning Indian teams in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics.

He entered politics in 1984 as a Congress candidate for the Lok Sabha election from Betul. His political fortunes have been mixed so far — he has won elections twice and lost twice.

In the 2004 election, he contested from Bhopal on a Nationalist Congress Party ticket, but lost.

Khan has now returned to the Congress fold, and will contest the election from Sagar in Madhya Pradesh. Not only does the constituency have a sizeable Muslim population, Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Bhupendra Singh has lost two assembly elections in this area. “This will be his hat-trick,” claim Congress workers.

“The Bahujan Samaj Party candidate will get some votes, but he doesn’t have any chances of winning. It’s a straight fight between the BJP and Congress,” says Bhole Raja, a member of the local Congress unit.

traight fight between BJP and Congres

We caught up with Khan while the former Olympian was taking a break after canvassing for hours in the relentless heat, in a garage that belongs to a Congress supporter.

The garage is designed like a fortress, with shiny white paint. Khan’s election convoy consists of some luxury cars, rickshaws and Marutis.

A band accompanies Khan during his campaign and play boisterous music. A group of Muslim youth come marching in, its leader shouting “Aslambhai Sangarsh karo, (Keep fighting Aslam brother).”

“Hum tumhare saath hai (We are with you),” his supporters chant in unison, adding, “Aslambhai zindabad (Long live Aslam brother).”

Khan seems tired after the campaign. “We will have some snacks and carry on our campaign,” volunteers a worker. Cold water is distributed all around.

As the tireless drummers play on enthusiastically, Khan agrees to spare us some time.

The former hockey goal-keeper is soft spoken and extremely polite. He speaks about his achievements in education in Betul. He set up a number of schools and colleges during his tenure as MP.

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