Who is Mukhtar Ansari-Mukhtar Ansari was born on 30 June 1963 in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. His family has been associated with politics and army. His grandfather Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari was the former president of the Indian National Congress. At the same time, his maternal uncle Mohammad Usman had played the role of Brigadier in the Indian Army. Mukhtar’s father’s name was Subhanullah Ansari.
The family background includes leadership and service as well as association with Sufi saints. Mukhtar Ansari’s lineage is linked to the Sufi saint Abdullah Ansari, who was from the Afghan city of Herat. In such a situation, Mukhtar’s life started in a respectable and glorious family.
Entry and struggle in the world of crime
Development projects were initiated by the government in the Purvanchal region in the 1970s. After this, organized gangster gangs emerged in the region, who kept fighting among themselves to take over these projects. Mukhtar Ansari also joined these gangs and entered the world of crime.
Initially he was a part of Makhnu Singh gang. But in the 1980s, there was a dispute between Makhnu Singh Gang and Sahib Singh Gang over a plot of land in Saidpur, after which violent clashes started. After this, Brijesh Singh formed his own gang and took over the contract work mafia of Ghazipur in the 1990s.
Mukhtar Ansari’s gang also wanted to take control of the same contract work, which included areas like coal mining, railway construction, scrap disposal, public works and liquor business. Due to this rivalry, there was continuous conflict between the two gangs.
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Beginning of political career and gang war
In the early 1990s, Mukhtar Ansari became famous for his gangster activities in Mau, Ghazipur, Varanasi and Jaunpur districts. Around 1995, he entered politics through the student union and became MLA from Mau for the first time in 1996.
After this the gang war between Mukhtar Ansari and Brijesh Singh intensified. The two became major rivals in the Purvanchal region. According to the allegations, in 2002, Brijesh Singh’s gang attacked Mukhtar’s convoy, killing three people and seriously injuring Brijesh. There was speculation about his death, but he was later found alive and the gang war started again.
Mixture of politics and crime
Mukhtar Ansari achieved continuous electoral success in Ghazipur-Mau region by taking advantage of Muslim vote bank. According to the allegations, this mix of crime, politics and religion has at times instigated communal violence in the area. After a similar incident, he was accused of inciting violence, but the court later acquitted him.
While Mukhtar was in jail, BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai was shot in public. His six companions were also killed. In this attack, more than 400 bullets were fired from 6 AK-47 rifles. 67 bullets were recovered from the seven bodies. Shashikant Roy, the key witness in the case, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in 2006. He had identified Mukhtar and his associate Munna Bajrangi’s henchmen Angad Rai and Gora Rai as the accused. Police ruled his death a suicide.
Mukhtar’s rival Brijesh Singh fled the Ghazipur-Mau area after Krishnanand Rai’s murder. He was arrested from Odisha in 2008 and later joined the Pragatisheel Manav Samaj Party.
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Association with Bahujan Samaj Party and controversies
In 2007, Mukhtar Ansari and his brother Afzal Ansari joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). He claimed that he was implicated in the cases for fighting against the ‘feudal system’. He also promised not to indulge in any criminal activity in future.
BSP chief Mayawati called Mukhtar Ansari ‘Robin Hood’ and ‘Messiah of the poor’. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, he contested from Varanasi on BSP ticket, but was in jail. He lost to BJP’s Murli Manohar Joshi by 17,211 votes. He got 27.94% votes, while Joshi got 30.52% votes.
However, Mukhtar and two others were later booked for the murder of Kapil Dev Singh in April 2009. Police found that he had also got a contractor, Ajay Prakash Singh, murdered in August 2009. In 2010, he was also accused of the murder of Ram Singh Maurya, who was a witness to the murder of Mannat Singh, a local contractor who was killed by Mukhtar’s gang in 2009.
After these incidents, BSP realized in 2010 that Mukhtar and his brothers were still involved in criminal activities. During a search of his prison place in Ghazipur jail, it was found that he was living a luxurious life there. Cooler and cooking material were recovered from his room. After this he was shifted to Mathura jail and expelled from BSP.
Establishment and membership of Kwami Ekta Dal
After being expelled from BSP, Mukhtar and his brothers formed their own political party ‘Kwami Ekta Dal’ in 2010. Before this, Mukhtar had also formed another organization named ‘Hindu Muslim Unity Party’, which was merged into Kwami Ekta Dal.
In 2012, a case was registered against Mukhtar under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act, in which he was accused of being a member of an organized crime syndicate. Despite this, in 2014 he announced to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi against Narendra Modi. However, he later withdrew his candidature so as not to divide the ‘secular votes’.
Return and last days in BSP
Seeking a political future again, Mukhtar rejoined the BSP on 26 January 2016. For a few months before this, there was speculation about his joining the Samajwadi Party. BSP chief Mayawati defended his return to the party and said the allegations against Mukhtar have not been proved yet. He also said that the party gives people a chance to improve.
Eventually, Mukhtar merged Kwami Ekta Dal with BSP in 2017 and contested the Mau seat as a BSP candidate in the assembly elections. He defeated Mahendra Rajbhar of BJP alliance party Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party by 6464 votes.
Since 2005, Mukhtar was lodged in jails of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. In April 2023, he was convicted in the murder case of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Subsequently, on March 13, 2024, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in a fake arms license case.
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