Former Bihar minister rules out contesting against Khurshid

Parveen Amanullah, Bihar's first woman Muslim minister who quit the ruling JD-U last week to join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Tuesday denied that she will contest against External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid in Uttar Pradesh's Farrukhabad constituency.

"I will contest Lok Sabha polls from a parliamentary seat in Bihar, not outside the state," Amanullah, who joined AAP last Thursday, told media persons here.

Speculation was rife for the last few days that the AAP would pit Amanullah against Khurshid in the Lok Sabha polls.

Amanullah, who is likely to contest from Muslim-dominated Kishanganj constituency - one represented by her father Syed Shahabuddin, has made it clear that she will focus on state politics to strengthen AAP and to increase its reach among people.

She also targeted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar by saying that rampant corruption is a major stumbling block in implementation of ongoing development projects and welfare schemes, and that poor governance and the absence of transparency and several other drawbacks forced her to quit as social welfare minister and Janata Dal-United.

Amanullah, a former Right To Information activist, is the wife of bureaucrat Afzal Amanullah.