Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, on Saturday, congratulated and welcomed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's elder brother Sigbatullah Ansari into his party.
Apart from Ansari, former Bahujan Samaj Party leader Ambika Chaudhary also joined the SP.
The development comes ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in 2022, with Akhilesh Yadav expressing confidence that the joining of these leaders "will send a message not only in Purvanchal but across the state".
"I congratulate Sigbatullah Ansari and his colleagues for joining the party (SP). Your joining will send a message not only in Purvanchal but across the state that the SP government will be formed in 2022," Yadav said.
He added, "I welcome Ambika Chaudhary to the party and I also welcome all the companions who came with him to the party. We all will work together so that the SP government comes in 2022."
Afzal Ansari, the brother of Sibgatullah Ansari, is the BSP MP from Ghazipur.
Expressing strong emotions, Ambika Chaudhary broke down. He said that the day was like a “rebirth” for him. "Akhilesh has compassionately asked me to include my son and colleagues in the party," Chaudhary added.
In his address, the former BSP leader expressed his dream of seeing Akhilesh Yadav as chief minister and said that he would do anything to make it happen.
Meanwhile, Sigbatullah Ansari joining the Samajwadi Party has drawn sharp reaction from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
“Akhilesh Yadav has ultimately taken refuge with the Ansari family. By admitting Ansari in his party, Akhilesh Yadav has shown that he has lost the capacity to ensure the victory of his party in 2022 on his own strength,” tweeted BJP spokesman Alok Awasthi.
He added, “Though Mukhtar Ansari has close ties with the Congress, it’s a friendly fight between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party.”
Ambika Chaudhary had joined BSP in 2017 after leaving SP, saying that he was saddened by the way senior leaders were treated by then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. He re-joined SP after his son, Anand, was declared as the party's candidate for the post of district panchayat chairman of Ballia district.
Meanwhile, Mukhtar Ansari and his brother Afzal Ansari were expelled from the BSP in 2010 and had formed the Quami Ekta Dal in 2010 that merged with the Samajwadi Party in 2016. However, the merger was opposed by Akhilesh Yadav and was discontinued after Akhilesh became the SP's national president. Mukhtar Ansari was welcomed back to the BSP by its supremo Mayawati in 2017 stating that the allegations against him had not been proven.
Mukhtar Ansari, the BSP MLA from Mau, is presently lodged in Banda jail. Ansari was shifted from Punjab to Banda Jail in Uttar Pradesh in April this year. Mukhtar Ansari is a history-sheeter facing more than 50 cases in the state and elsewhere. He has about 38 cases against him just in the Mohammadabad police station of Ghazipur district for committing heinous crimes, including the alleged murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai in 2005.