Jailed MLA Mukhtar Ansari is unlikely to contest the ongoing Assembly elections, with his son Abbas Ansari filing his nomination papers from the Mau (Sadar) Assembly constituency in eastern Uttar Pradesh as a candidate of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an ally of the Samajwadi Party (SP).
Mukhtar Ansari, currently lodged in Banda jail, is a five-term MLA and has been representing the Mau (Sadar) seat since 1996. Mau will go to polls in the seventh and last phase on March 7.
After filing his nomination, Abbas Ansari said, "My father is a five-time MLA from Mau Sadar. He will not contest the election this time. It is a son's duty to carry forward the legacy of his father. Mau is my 'karmabhoomi' and I will carry forward my father's political legacy. I will leave no stone unturned."
Asked why Mukhtar decided not to contest, Abbas Ansari claimed that "democracy is under threat today."
He further said that a conspiracy was being hatched so that his father could not file his nomination. "In such a situation, he has handed over his legacy to me," Abbas Ansari said.
Mukhtar Ansari's lawyer Daroga Singh said, "He (Mukhtar) has handed over his political legacy to his son Abbas Ansari. Abbas filed his nomination as the SBSP candidate from the Mau Sadar Assembly seat, which Mukhtar won five times consecutively. Now, Abbas will be in electoral politics."
This time, the BJP has fielded Ashok Singh, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded its state president Bhim Rajbhar and the Congress has fielded Madhavendra Bahadur Singh from the seat. Mukhtar Ansari retained the seat as an independent in 2002 and 2007, and as a Quami Ekta Dal candidate in 2012. In 2017, he won the seat on the BSP ticket.
Abbas Ansari had contested the 2017 Assembly election from Ghosi as a BSP candidate and finished second to the BJP's Phagu Chauhan.
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