Mulayam’s Look East Policy led to tie-up with Ansaris

NEW DELHI: The ruling Samajwadi Party’s decision to merge the Ansari brothers’ Quami Ekta Dal (QED) with itself, which allegedly upset chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, reflects party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav’s anxiety to do well in east Uttar Pradesh in next year’s assembly elections.
SP has been facing multiple challenges in east UP, traditionally a stronghold of the party.

Ansari brothers — former MP Afzal Ansari, Mau’s MLA M u k h t a r A n s a r i a n d Muhammadabad’s MLA Sibgatullah Ansari — have political influence in about 25 assembly seats falling under different districts including Ghazipur, Mau, Ballia, Azamgarh, Chandauli and Varanasi, the parliament constituency of Prime Minister N a r e n d r a Modi.

QED’s existence as a smaller outfit apparently meant possible damage to the SP’s support base in several assembly seats this region.

The SP-QED merger has also come at a time when both SP and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are trying hard to keep their support base particularly among most backward caste (MBC) voters intact and, where possible, improve it.

BSP chief Mayawati is also looking to woo Muslim voters. Hence Mulayam Yadav’s decision to rope in the Ansari brothers in spite of his son Akhilesh Yadav’s alleged reluctance to associate with don-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.

Ansari brothers come from Ghazipur, the parliamentary constituency of junior communications minister Manoj Sinha, a senior BJP leader.

Commenting on the merger with SP, Sibgatullah Ansari told ET on phone: “Waqt ki pukar hai. Secular forces must get united now. We have left everything on Netaji (as Mulayam is referred to among his supporters).

He will decide everything.” In the last two decades, Ansari brothers kept expanding their political base in various areas of eastern UP, though they are finding it difficult to maintain their political influence in these areas.

Afzal Ansari, who had won Mohammedabad assembly seat for at least five times and became a Lok Sabha member from Ghazipur seat in 2004 in SP ticket.

Political observers said he has always remained in constant touch with voters in his areas. “Afzal regularly meets visitors who approach him for their works. He ensures help for them at the earliest possible,” a person in Ghazipur told ET.