As controversy rages once again, Alison Hardie reports on one man's rocky road to Parliament.

IT would be one of the greatest understatements in current politics to say Mohammed Sarwar is no stranger to controversy.

Along every step of his journey to Parliament to become Britain's first Muslim MP, Mr Sarwar's progress has attracted a level of publicity that left other political hopefuls wringing their hands in despair.

His first sortie on to the national stage was in the depths of winter 1993, when it was first announced he would stand for the newly-created Glasgow Govan seat against sitting MP Mike Watson, whose constituency had been eradicated during a boundary carve-up.

Amid much huffing and puffing about dirty tricks and smear campaigns, it was Mr Sarwar's camp which was first to see the potential of playing the ''race card''.

Since then, it was been argued the Pakistani-born multi-millionaire cynically traded on his race to win the nomination to stand on the hustings as the official Labour candidate, while others claim Mr Sarwar has been a victim of an insidious campaign of racism aimed at keeping the face of Scottish politics white.

Yet he was to come through the mire to take the Govan seat with a comfortable majority of 2914 and, six days ago, the 46-year-old became the first member of the House of Commons to take the MPs' swearing-in oath using the Koran.

Born in a village near Faisalabad, Mr Sarwar followed his father to Scotland, where he had moved to sell clothes on the Clyde coast, regularly sending money back to his family.

In Pakistan, young Sarwar won a scholarship to study political science and as a teenager he whetted his political appetite by joining the Pakistan People's party and supported Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Married, with three sons and a daughter, and owner of a cash-and-carry empire, he has been a Labour Party member since 1984 and was a Labour councillor in Glasgow for three years.

Mr Sarwar's close circle, among which he can include influential businessmen, politicians, and well-placed sources within the media, said he was in chipper mood after his election win and eagerly anticipating playing his role in the pomp surrounding the Queen's Speech.

All the while, however, persistent rumours were circulating about the validity of the vote in Govan. Not even Mr Sarwar's painstakingly-cultivated contacts could prevent them bubbling to the surface.

No-one was surprised, perhaps least of all Mr Sarwar, who has long complained he was the victim of a vendetta aimed at thwarting his political ambition.

His first taste of controversy came even before he became the candidate for Govan - normally a safe Labour seat but which had been won sporadically in the past by Scottish nationalists.

A re-run of the candidacy battle between him and Mr Mike Watson - Mr Watson won the original contest by one vote - was ordered after allegations of skulduggery on both sides.

There was claim and counter-claim alleging vote-rigging in the battle for the seat, with names appearing and disappearing amidst confusion over who was and was not eligible to vote.

There were also questions raised over Mr Sarwar's spending in his campaigns for selection in 1995 and in this year's election.

Mr Watson was MP for Glasgow Central, a seat which disappeared under boundary changes, reducing the total number of Glasgow seats - all held by Labour.

This in turn prompted fierce in-fighting by Labour parliamentary incumbents and hopefuls in Glasgow for the seats that were left. The scenes created by opposing factions led to the worst in-fighting endured by the Scottish Labour Party for generations.

On one occasion, Mr Watson was moved to comment: ''I would question whether his (Sarwar) background qualifies him to become a Labour MP. He is a successful millionaire just seeking to add another string to his bow.''

Mr Sarwar was to reply: ''I do not think it matters at all whether Mohammed Sarwar or Michael Watson sits in Westminster for the people of Govan, the only thing is that Labour wins.''

On May 1, Mr Sarwar and Labour did win in Govan but controversy was to erupt again.

Earlier this week, Mr Sarwar said he was planning legal action against unidentified enemies who, he said, were waging a whispering campaign against him.

Police have already started an investigation into claims that several voters gained late entry to Govan's electoral roll.

Mr Sarwar said earlier this week: ''As far as I am concerned, we ran a creditable, honest campaign. People should accept the democratic will of the people of Govan.''

In the short term, Mr Sarwar has achieved his aim - a win for Labour. Whether in the long term Mr Tony Blair's party will view it as a victory or a public relations disaster heralding the re-emergence of sleaze remains to be seen.