The new chairman of the UP Sugar Corporation, Intezar Abidi ‘Bobby’ — who, the Congress alleges, has been rewarded by Chief Minister Mayawati for his role in the arson at Rita Bahuguna Joshi’s house — claims he is a dedicated BSP member.

On his first day with “minister of state status”, he missed office to avoid the media. “It is unfortunate, my name is being dragged unnecessarily,” he told The Indian Express.

Categorically denying any criminal history, Abidi says he had nothing to do with the attack on Joshi’s house.

Relatively unknown in the party’s state unit, Abidi shot to dubious fame when the Congress alleged that he was involved in the attack. Since then, his name has been everywhere. His subsequent appointment — the status of a minister and the celebrations on a red-beacon car with slogan-chanting followers — only brought more publicity.

Abidi (34) is the in-charge of the BSP Lucknow West Constituency, where a by-election is scheduled for the next month. The party has decided to field Sandeep Bansal, a trader leader.

He came to limelight within the BSP when in 1997, he arranged a donation of Rs 1 lakh on Mayawati’s birthday through the “aarthik sahyog” of Rs 50,000 each through her two close aides — Swami Prasad Maurya and Naseemuddin. He joined politics with the BSP in 1989, and by 1992 was elevated to the post of president of Wajirganj ward unit of Lucknow. Abidi was involved in student politics as well. In 1993, he was elected the vice-president of Shia Degree College Student Union and elected the president of the union with a record margin in 1994-95. His first political break came in 2002, with a ticket for a legislative election from Lucknow West constituency. Though he lost to BJP’s Lalji Tandon, he was made the city president of the party — a post he held till 2008.

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