Who Is Iqra Hasan? New Kairana MP Continuing Family's Political Legacy

Iqra Hasan (also known as Iqra Chaudhary), a 29-year-old Samajwadi Party leader, was elected from the Kairana seat in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections 2024. She defeated Bharatiya Janata Party's Pradeep Chaudhary by a margin of over 69,000 votes, securing a total of 5,28,013 (48.9 per cent) votes, according to data from the Election Commission of India. Hasan is the daughter of former Member of Legislative Assembly Begum Tabassum Hasan and sister of three-time MLA Nahid Hasan. Reportedly, Iqra Hasan's simplicity and connection with grassroots people despite the political lineage is what attracted voters this general election.

Who Is Iqra Hasan?

Iqra Hasan is the granddaughter of former MP Chaudhary Akhtar Hasan and the late former MP Munawwar Hasan and Tabassum. She joined politics in 2016 when she contested the Zila Panchayat elections. While she lost by 5,000 votes, she has been a prominent name in Kairana's political landscape ever since.

कैराना लोकसभा के सभी सम्मानित मतदाताओं, मुख्य रूप से किसानों, नौजवानों व मेरी माताओं-बहनों और इंडिया गठबंधन के हमारे सभी सम्मानित कार्यकर्ताओं का बहुत-बहुत आभार एवं धन्यवाद। 🙏

यह जीत कैराना की जनता की जीत है।#IqraHasan pic.twitter.com/a5yd5KxGvR

— Iqra Munawwar Hasan (@Iqra_Munawwar_) June 5, 2024

She is the second woman in her influential family to become a lawmaker. Tabassum joined politics after the death of her husband in a road accident in 2008. Iqra Hasan made media headlines in 2019 when she took part in the anti-CAA protest in London, where she was pursuing her postgraduation at the London School of Oriental and African Studies.

In February 2021, Hasan's brother and mother were reportedly booked under the Gangster Act by the Uttar Pradesh police. However, as Nahid Hasan contested the 2022 Uttar Pradesh polls from jail, Iqra Hasan's campaigning across the towns and villages of the State helped him secure a seat in the Assembly.

She told India Today, "I entered politics while my brother was in jail by campaigning in the assembly elections and winning the love of the people. I made my brother win and hoisted my flag by defeating the BJP party in the Lok Sabha seat. Going from Uttar Pradesh to London to study, my mother's biggest support in this and my father's blessings and now will work for the rights of our people."