[1] He contested the Barsoi seat in the 1985 Bihar Legislative Assembly election as a Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate, finishing in second place with 14,189 votes (20.59%).
[5] Alam won the Barsoi seat in the 2000 Bihar Legislative Assembly election, standing as a CPI(ML) Liberation candidate.
[8] However, ahead of the subsequent October 2005 Bihar Legislative Assembly election Alam was barred from contesting as his name had been deleted from the voters' list.
[6] CPI(ML) Liberation fielded Alam as its candidate in Katihar Lok Saba seat in the 2009 parliamentary election.
[18] A bandh (shutdown) was organized in the Barsoi bloc to protest the arrest and demonstrations were held across the state demanding his release.
[13][19] Police arrested Alam in connection with a murder charge just after he filed his nomination papers for the Katihar Lok Sabha seat in the 2014 parliamentary election.