As BJP eyes consolidation of votes, Mukhtar Ansari casts a long shadow in campaign rhetoric across Purvanchal

Late gangster Mukhtar Ansari's legacy fuels BJP campaign in eastern Uttar Pradesh, invoking fear of mafia rule under opposition.

Late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who died earlier this year, remained a key issue in the campaign vocabulary of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in eastern Uttar Pradesh with top party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.P. CM Yogi Adityanath, invoking the dreaded days of the five-time MLA’s mafia raj under Opposition governments in the State.

In a bid to unite the upper caste votes in favour of the BJP, the ruling party leaders in at least four Lok Sabha seats claimed that the time had come to take revenge against the family of the late Ansari, who was convicted for orchestrating the murder of former BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai and strongman Awadhesh Rai.

The name of the late MLA and his conflict with other slain gangsters belonging to the upper caste communities was used continuously to unite the upper castes in this region in favor of the BJP and created a pitch for security and improved law and order.

“The bulldozer of the Yogi Adityanath-led government ended goondaraj (rule by criminal gangs) in Uttar Pradesh. In the Samajwadi Party (SP) rule, the mafia operated with impunity, brazenly challenging the law from open jeeps and killing rivals,” said Mr. Modi addressing a rally in Ghosi Lok Sabha seat that includes Mau Sadar Assembly constituency, from where Abbas Ansari, son of late Mukhtar Ansari, is the MLA. Mukhtar Ansari represented the seat between 1996 and 2022 before passing on the electoral baton to his son.

Mr. Adityanath, who addressed poll meetings in Ghazipur where Afzal Ansari, the elder brother of the late politician, is fighting the election on a Samajwadi Party (SP) symbol, claimed that the BJP will not rest till it “eliminates sinners”.

“Today, no one thinks of playing with the safety of the daughters and the businessmen. The mafia which once used to flout the law is now being trampled by the bulldozer of Uttar Pradesh,” said the CM in Ghazipur hinting at continuous actions of the State government against what it described as the Mukhtar Ansari gang. The U.P. government has claimed it seized properties worth more than ₹550 crore belonging to the alleged criminal syndicate once led by the deceased history-sheeter.

Alka Rai, a former MLA and Krishnanand Rai’s wife, addressed the BJP poll rallies and called for teaching the “demons” tough electoral lessons. She also hailed the U.P. government led by the BJP for ending mafia rule in the State.