Mukhtar Ansari factor dominates discussions in Ghazipur constituency

Ghazipur: Two months after his death, mafia don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari is at the centre of political discourse in this Uttar Pradesh constituency with his younger brother and INDIA bloc candidate Afzal Ansari fighting BJP’s Parasnath Rai to retain the Lok Sabha seat.

As campaigning winds to a close and Ghazipur gets ready to vote on June 1 in the last round of the seven-phase election, discussions seem to veer around the “sympathy factor” versus the “end of goonda raj” sentiment.

"This time, there is a lot of sympathy among the people due to Mukhtar Ansari’s death. Mukhtar's son Umar Ansari is also seeking votes for Afzal Ansari and this is increasing the sympathy,'' said 50-year-old Hidayatullah.

Ashok Lal Srivastava, an advocate by profession, disagreed. ''If anyone says there is any sympathy for Mukhtar Ansari, he is lying. The terror and dominance he had earlier has ended now. Its effect will be seen on June 4 (counting day).'' In 2019, Afzal Ansari defeated then Union minister and now Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha by more than 1.19 lakh votes.

There are 10 candidates in the fray, including Afzal Ansari, who is contesting on the SP symbol, his main rival BJP's Rai and BSP’s Umesh Singh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have addressed rallies in favour of the BJP candidate, while Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has held a meeting in support of Afzal Ansari. After the death of Mukhtar Ansari, a five-time MLA from Mau, Yadav had gone to his house to express his condolences.

Five-time MLA and two-time MP Afzal Ansari, who has been contesting elections under the shadow of Mukhtar Ansari for nearly four decades, is playing on the sympathy card.

He has been claiming that his elder brother’s death is part of a conspiracy and the public is angry, the effect of which will be seen on June 4.

BJP candidate Rai has hit back, saying Afzal Ansari should not compare his terrorist brother with martyrs.

Mukhtar Ansari, an accused in more than 60 cases, including the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai, died on March 28 this year during treatment in a hospital in Banda district jail after his health deteriorated. Ansari's family alleged that he was killed by slow poison. And the post-mortem report stated that he died due to cardiac arrest.

While Afzal Ansari defeated Manoj Sinha in this Lok Sabha constituency in 2019, the SP alliance wiped out the BJP by winning all the five assembly seats in this region in the 2022 assembly elections. SP candidates won from Saidpur (reserved), Ghazipur Sadar, Jangipur and Zamania, while Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which was then an ally of the SP, won from Jakhania (reserved). The SBSP is now a part of the NDA.

"Afzal Ansari is at the forefront of the fight here. Some powerful people may call him a mafia don and a goon but he has a lot of affection for the poor... there is sympathy for the death of Mukhtar Ansari and the poor of every class are supporting him," said Ghanshyam Yadav, a resident of Dashwantpur village and a member of the local block development council.

Besides the Mukhtar Ansari factor, the other issues for the 20.74 lakh voters in Ghazipur are caste mobilisation and the Modi-Yogi pull.

Sadanand, a 30-year-old resident Jangipur, who had set up his camp for charging fast tags on the roadside on the Varanasi-Gorakhpur road, is reluctant to talk. On being prodded, he said, “In this election, the upper castes are voting for the lotus flower (BJP's election symbol), some are for the elephant (BSP symbol), while Muslims, most backward and some Dalits are riding bicycles (the SP symbol).” Upper castes, including Bhumihar, Brahmin, Kshatriya, Kayastha, comprise about 19 per cent of the population. About 43 per cent are backward castes, including Yadav, Kushwaha, Bind-Nishad and Rajbhar. Muslims comprise 12 per cent and the Scheduled Castes 21 per cent.

According to Rameshwar Kumar, an SC and an advocate, "The fight in Ghazipur is triangular and BSP is also in the fray." The Dalit vote, in his view, is getting divided due to sympathy for Mukhtar Ansari.

Awadhesh Ram, a Dalit farmer, wasn’t sure who the BSP candidate was but was clear his vote would go to the party.

Not everybody is forthcoming though.

Brijraj Prajapati, who runs a grocery shop, said, "I will vote wherever my friends tell me to." Added Rachna, a young lawyer, "Elections matter in a democracy. It is not necessary for me to tell who you will vote for."