Rejected by Akhilesh Yadav, gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari set to join Mayawati's BSP

Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who is at odds with Samajwadi Party national president and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, is most likely to join hands with BSP chief Mayawati for contesting assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

Lucknow: Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who is at odds with Samajwadi Party national president and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, is most likely to join hands with BSP chief Mayawati for contesting the crucial assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

Ansari is believed to have approached the BSP after Akhilesh Yadav ignored him completely while deciding Samajwadi Party candidates for the UP elections, to be held in seven phases from February 11.

Ansari is now inclined towards BSP after Akhilesh opposed his party's - Quami Ekta Dal - merger with Samajwadi Party and made it clear that he did not want criminals in his party.  

Mayawati is expected to announce the entry of Ansari and members of his family today or tomorrow.

ANI quoted also quoted as saying that the BSP chief has also agreed to give Ansari three UP assembly seats - Ghosi, Mau and Mohammadabad - to contest.

As per reports, Mukhtar Ansari is the sitting legislator from Mau and will contest from there, while his son Abbas Ansari will contest from Ghosi and his older brother Sibagatullah Ansari will contest from Mohammadabad.

In a bid to accommodate them, Mayawati will have to withdraw three BSP candidates already announced for these seats in East UP.

Last year, the Samajwadi Party had announced that Ansari's party – Qaumi Ekta Dal - was merging with it based on a deal made by Shivpal Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav's uncle. However, Akhilesh's vehement opposition to the merger became central to a bitter tussle for power in the Samajwadi Party between nephew and uncle that saw party patriarch and then chief Mulayam Singh Yadav side with his brother over son Akhilesh.

Akhilesh Yadav has sidelined several party members close to his father and uncle. One such Mulayam aide Ambika Chaudhary too joined Mayawati's party a few days ago.

The Ansaris are from a very well-known political family in UP - Mukhtar Ansari's grandfather Dr Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari was national president of the Congress party - and are seen to have considerable influence in about 20 assembly constituencies in Ghazipur, Mau, Azamgarh, Ballia,and Varanasi.

Mayawati is aggressively wooing the Muslim vote bank in these UP elections and has fielded 97 candidates from the community, the most ever by her party.