By
RUBY ZAIDI
On June 24, a day before Iqra Hasan was set to take oath in the 18th Lok Sabha, the Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate who won from Uttar Pradesh’s Kairana in the general election, told Bollywood Reporter , “ Your’s is a Film Portal, so I shouldn’t talk politics, then what we should talk about, films ?”
” Do you watch movies?” I asked.
” Why not? Yes, I often watch, but not every x,y,z movie, I watch selective movie.” Iqra replied.
I further asked, ” Which one is your favorite?”
Iqra Hasan said, ” Do you want to know which movie I like the most ?”
” Yes, a movie that you wish to watch again, if you get time?” I asked.
” Hmmm, it’s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, it’s a beautiful movie.” She replied.
” Who is your favorite actor?” I asked.
” Shah Rukh Khan of course, I like him not only for his looks, he is a good actor and he speaks well, he is educated and literate, his thoughts are too good,” Iqra said.
Kairana is a key constituency in Uttar Pradesh that went to BJP’s Pradeep Chaudhary in 2019 general election. Pradeep Chaudhary had defeated Iqra’s mother, Begum Tabassum Hasan of the Samajwadi Party.
Now in 2024, Iqra Hasan defeated Pradeep Chaudhary by over 69,000 votes.
For Iqra Hasan, the win was not just about securing a seat—coming from a political family, she is no stranger to such victories—but also about defeating BJP, which, in recent years, has targeted her family for its political affiliation.
However, Iqra’s victory in Kairana is important from a broader perspective too. This town in Uttar Pradesh was the focal point of an alleged exodus of Hindus between 2014 and 2016; in 2013, it was affected deeply by the communal riots in neighboring Muzaffarnagar and nearby districts; this region, with a mixed population of Sainis, Rajputs, Gujjars, Jats, Dalits, and Muslims, is deeply patriarchal even now.
Reclining on a sofa, 28-year-old Iqra Hasan adjusted her dupatta around her head amidst our conversation. The London-educated MP Iqra Hasan insisted that her headwear was not a traditional hijab: “I cover my head because it is a cultural practice in our area; Gujjar or Jat women do the same. My friends jokingly call my way of covering the head an extremely secular gesture,” she said.
For Iqra Hasan, who is a feminist at heart, the head cover is also a way of deflecting attention from her gender and a plea for being judged by the merit of her work as a politician alone. “Covering my head helps me concentrate on my duties and ensures that I am judged by my actions, not by my appearance,” she said.
“I don’t want conversations about my clothes to hamper real talks about progress and what really needs to be done,” she concluded.
