Ansari factor failed for Mayawati
Mayawati gave tickets to the three Ansari’s-- Mukhtar (Mau), his brother Sibgatullah (Mohammadabad) and son Abbas Ansari (Ghosi), to cash in on their popularity in the region, but the Ansari’s could not win, or influence, any seat in eastern UP.
Like any other political move, Mayawati could not get the desired results by giving BSP tickets to jailed-gangster Mukhtar Ansari’s and his family in assembly elections.
Barring the don’s own seat, Mau, the Ansari’s could not win, or influence, any seat in eastern UP. Mayawati gave tickets to the three Ansari’s-- Mukhtar (Mau), his brother Sibgatullah (Mohammadabad) and son Abbas Ansari (Ghosi), to cash in on their popularity in the region.
The Ansaris were first pampered by Mulayam Singh Yadav only to be snubbed by Akhilesh Yadav in the aftermath of family feud before they joined hands with BSP just ahead of the polls. Mayawati, observers said, had expected that the Ansari factor might help her woo Muslim and her Dalit votes, a move that failed.
Ansari, four-time MLA from Mau Sadar, won the Mau seat by securing over 97 thousand votes against Mahednra Rajbhar of Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party polling who got 88095 votes finishing second. Ansari’s son Abbas Ansari, lost to BJP’s Faghu Chuhan by 7000 votes in Ghosi.
In Ghazipur’s Mohamadabad seat, Alka Rai of BJP defeated Ansari’s brother Sibgatullah by more than 30,000 votes . In 2002, BJP’S Krishnanand Rai had won it and his widow Alka won the by-poll after the husband’s murder. Allegedly by Mukhtar. From 1985 to 1993, Afzal, the third brother, won the Mohammadabad seat on CPI ticket. Only twice, non-Ansari has won the seat before.
“It was total sweep by BJP. Mayawati has been disseminated everywhere. There is no question of winning in eastern UP,” said Manoj Singh, political observer.
Ansari, in jail since 2005, is said to enjoy a sizeable clout in Varanasi, Mau, Azamgarh and Ghazipur districts in the region. His political outfit, Quami Ekta Dal, led by him and his two brothers, Afzal and Sibagatullah, had won three seats in the 2012 assembly elections before merging with Mayawati’s BSP ahead of 2017 assembly elections. But, BSP won only eight seats in the Purvanchal region of UP comprising 102 seats.
The winning streak on Mau seat started in 1996, when Mukhtar won it on BSP ticket. In 2002, the jailed don turned politician won the seat as Independent and as a QED candidate in 2012.