Lucknow, May 30 (IANS): The candidature of poet-turned-politician Imran Pratapgarhi for the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra, has started raising heckles in Uttar Pradesh Congress.

Party leaders in the state have started questioning the merit on which Pratapgarhi was nominated for the Rajya Sabha.

"This 34-year-old joined the Congress in 2019 and is now being sent to the Rajya Sabha. His credentials and service to the party are doubtful. It was his communal campaigning that made us lose an election in Bangarmau in Unnao. If the party had to send a Muslim leaders, there are many veterans like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Salman Khurshid, Rashid Alvi and even Tariq Alvi," said a senior party leader.

A former state Congress president said that he was not even aware of who Imran Pratapgarhi is.

"I do not know who is taking such decisions that will further push the party down. The leadership seems to be working by proxy and this will spell doom for the party," he said.

Another leader came up with a video clip in which Imran Pratagarhi can be heard singing paeans to mafia don Mukhtar Ansari.

He said, "This is a poet on sale. He used to sing in praise of Akhilesh Yadav and was rewarded with a Yash Bharti in 2016. Such a person will now occupy the Upper House."

Party leaders are planning to confront Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on the issue when she comes to Lucknow on June 1 for the proposed 'Chintan Shivir'.