For mafia-don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, “playing” with guns might have earned him a bad name but for his son Abbas Ansari playing with “guns” brought him applause and appreciation after he scooped Gold medal at a National level event.
The star shooter Abbas, who just turned 25-year-old, has now decided to play new inning by taking a plunge in politics. He is the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate from Ghosi seat in Mau district that is going to polls in the sixth phase of elections in on March 4.
A gold medalist, he is facing a tough triangular contest against BJP’s Fagu Chauhan and SP’s Sudhakar.
“Akhilesh Yadav has double standards. When it was required to save his party, he sent his men to my father to get his support. Affidavit in Akhilesh’s support was taken from my father as well as my uncle Sigbatullah, both MlAs. I have entered politics to show how the youth works. Don’t know why Akhilesh betrayed us. But the truth is Akhilesh was himself in contact with my father Mukhtar. The CM had met my father for an hour in the Vidhan Sabha and assured that the political association will take our help for the Rajya Sabha and council elections,” he claimed.
“later on when Akhilesh and Mulayam Singh Yadav locked horns for control of the party, the CM sent his men to papa (Mukhtar) and sought for both his and my uncle Sigabtullah’s affidavits,” he said.
He alleged that a false perception has been created about his father. “We were targeted and were made the scapegoats but what about Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, Raja Bhaiya, Pandit Singh as they continue to be with the SP,” the BSP candidate said.
Claiming that the SP-Congress alliance will make no impact in Uttar Pradesh elections, he said the main question is who the youth leader is and what the age criteria is for being the youth leader.
Mukhtar was first elected to UP Assembly in 1996 on a BSP ticket. He was elected as a member of UP Assembly in 2002 and 2007 as an Independent candidate.
Mukhtar joined the BSP once again in 2007 and contested the 2009 lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully. In 2010, the Mau MlA was expelled from the party owing to his involvement in criminal activities.
After forming his own party Quami Ekta Dal in the same year, he was elected an MlA from Mau once again in 2012 Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, Abbas is not the only son of gang-lord turned politician trying to become ‘law-maker’ but children of many other don turned politician are trying their luck. Aditi Singh, daughter of Akhilesh Singh, who did her MBA from abroad and returned to India, is contesting on Congress ticket from Raebareli Sadar, her father’s traditional constituency from where he won for the last five times.
Similarly another mafia turned politician Rizwan Zaheer’s daughter Zeba Rizwan is contesting for first time from Tulsipur Assembly constituency in Balrampur. Another gang-lord turned politician Brij Bhushan Saran Singh’s son Prateek is contesting from Gonda Sadar seat.
The sitting MlA and Minister Vinod Singh aka Pandit Singh, also a don turned politician, has fielded his son Suraj from the constituency and he himself shifted to Tarabganj seat in Gonda. Poetess Madhummita Shukla’s killer Amarmani’s son Amanmani, now also in jail in connection with murder of his wife Sara, is another gang-lord turned politician son contesting from Nautanwa constituency of Maharajganj.
Besides, Neelam Karwariya is wife of strongman and former MlA Udaybhan Karwariya.
Her husband Udaybhan Karwariya is currently in prison under the trial of Jawahar Pandit murder case. The Karwariya family has a huge support in Allahabad and the family has deep political connections. Neelam Karwariya belongs to the family of former MP from Phulpur Kapil Muni Karwariya (also arrested in murder of Pandit) as well as former BSP MlC Suraj Bhan Karwariya.
By contesting in Assembly elections, the Karwariya family is trying to regain its hold in the Allahabad region. Neelam is contesting the Assembly election from Meja constituency of the Allahabad district.