Mohammad Ilyas is a member of the
Rahim Khan political dynasty of Haryana, which has immense influence in the
Nuh district (
Mewat region) of Haryana. Ilyas is a senior leader and the longest serving legislator from the region. He first entered electoral politics in 1987, after the death of his father, contesting from the Nuh constituency under the banner of the Lok Dal (LKD), though he was unsuccessful. In a 1989 by-election, he ran as a candidate for the Indian National Congress but was again defeated. His first electoral victory came in 1991, where he served as the Minister of State for Power and Irrigation under the
Bhajan Lal's Congress government. In 1996, running as an independent, he again faced defeat. Ilyas achieved a significant win in 2000, securing the Ferozepur Jhirka seat as a candidate of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), where he served as the Minister of State for Animal Husbandry under
Om Prakash Chautala's fifth ministry. However, he was defeated in the 2005 election before winning the Punahana seat in 2009. After another loss in 2014, Ilyas made a successful comeback in 2019, once again winning under the Indian National Congress. He also contested an election for parliamentary seat of the
Faridabad constituency in 2004 and lost the election to
Avtar Singh Bhadana with a margin of 1,51,929 votes. In the
2024 Haryana Legislative Assembly election, Ilyas retained his seat and won from the
Punahana constituency with a victory margin of 31,916 votes. == Personal life ==