AIMIM says 'won't field candidate against Mukhtar Ansari from Mau' after BSP rejection

After welcoming don-turned-BSP MLA Mukhtar Ansari, AIMIM UP chief Shaukat Ali on Sunday, announced that the party will not field any candidate against Ansari. Previously,  Ali asserted that if Mukhtar Ansari approaches the party, they would definitely give him a ticket, or if he decides to fight the elections solo, they would back him. Ansari is a 5-time MLA from the Mau constituency and is currently in Uttar Pradesh's Banda jail.

AIMIM: 'Won't field candidate against Ansari'

BSP Supremo Mayawati refused Ansari a poll ticket tweeting, "No don or mafia will be contesting on a BSP's ticket. Hence, we have decided that instead of Mukhtar Ansari, UP BSP president Bhim Rajbhar will be contesting from the Mau constituency in the upcoming polls. We will take special care while selecting the party candidates, so that if the government is formed, strict action will be taken against such elements".

In response, Shaukat Ali said, "I want to ask Mayawati, was he (Mukhtar Ansari)  not a gangster earlier? Has he become a gangster in 2021?". Prior to Ansari's rejection, his brother Sigbatullah joined Samajwadi Party, eyeing the UP polls.

Owaisi's party itself has inducted mafia don-turned-politician Ateeq Ahmad, his wife Shaista Parveen and his lawyer in the presence of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. Addressing a press conference in Ayodhya, AIMIM supremo Asaduddin Owaisi defended Ahmad's entry citing that several BJP lawmakers also faced serious criminal charges. AIMIM is set to contest on 100 seats in the upcoming UP polls in alliance with Om Prakash Rajbhar's 'Bhagidari Sankalp Morcha'. The alliance comprises of AIMIM, SBSP, Apna Dal (Krishna Patel), Rashtroday Party, Rashtriya Bhagidari Party, and Janta Kranti Party.

"If Ateeq Ahmad delivered a provocative speech before the Muzaffarnagar riots or made a speech in Gorakhpur which led to trouble and he belonging to the community which is in power, then the cases against him would have been withdrawn. This is the reality. As per Indian law, he is yet to be convicted in any case," said Owaisi.

UP Polls 2022

With BJP fighting under the leadership of incumbent CM Yogi Adityanath, several fronts have cropped up to challenge the ruling BJP. While Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj has allied with AIMIM, Azad Samaj Party, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party; parties like AAP, Shiv Sena, and JDU have announced that they will be contesting for the UP polls. SP chief Akhilesh Singh Yadav has stated that SP will only ally with smaller political parties for the 2022 Assembly polls, holding talks with Mahan Dal, NCP. Mayawati has already announced that her party will fight polls alone in UP and Uttarakhand, while allying only with Akali Dal in Punjab. Congress has aggressively campaigned under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi in the state, eyeing its solo return.