Qaumi ekta dal confident despite Mukhtar name missing from Samajwadi party first list

VARANASI: The Qaumi Ekta Dal, which merged recently with the Samajwadi Party is confident of mafia don-turned-MLA Mukhtar Ansari and his son Abbas Ansari’s names appearing in SP’s next list of candidates.
Mukhtar’s family, which had formed QED after 2009 parliamentary election and merged it with SP in November has no doubt he would contest for Mau Sadar seat to become MLA for the fifth consecutive term even if SP denies party ticket to him.Abbas is ready to make his debut in electoral politics from City South assembly seat of Varanasi. SP candidate list released by party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday did not carry the names of the father and son.
In the initial list of 325 candidate released by Mulayam, only one name, of Mukhtar’s elder brother Sibghatullah Ansari figured as party candidate from Mohammadabad assembly seat of Ghazipur district. When TOI contacted former chief of QED and Mukhtar’s brother Afzal Ansari on Thursday, he refused to disclose number of SP tickets claimed by his family. Afzal said, “We are now part of SP and all its candidates are ours.” But he admitted that Mukhtar’s elder son Abbas will contest assembly poll from City South assembly seat in Varanasi if SP allowed.
City South assembly area has been the BJP domain for past seven assembly elections. It is the same assembly from where BJP’s Murli Manohar Joshi had taken a decisive lead over Mukhtar, when he had contested 2009 parliamentary election as BSP candidate. But in 2012 assembly election, QED’s Athar Jamal Lari performed better than SP candidate and bagged this seat with a margin of about 22,000 votes.
Despite chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s reluctance, not only was QED merged into SP, criminal-turned-politicians like Atiq Ahmed got party ticket too. Ansari family is all the more confident about SP fielding Mukhtar from Mau Sadar seat. On possibility of Mukhtar contesting as independent candidate in case of denial of SP ticket, Afzal said, “Why would he (Mukhtar) contest as independent candidate? BJP is making hue and cry and targeting Mukhtar, who is four times MLA.
Mukhtar first contested for Mau Sadar assembly area in 1996 as BSP candidate and emerged victorious. But after the election, Ansari brothers quit BSP. In 2002 and 2007 assembly elections, when SP did not field a candidate from this seat, Mukhtar won as independent candidate bagging over 40% votes. In 2012, he won this seat for the fourth time despite SP fielding a candidate against him.