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Samajwadi Party Pays Tribute To Gangster 'Messiah' Ansari While Congress Bats Its Hopes On Pappu Yadav
The Mercies of Gangster “Messiah” Ansari
Gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari died from cardiac arrest in jail. Samajwadi Party paid 'humble tribute' to Ansari.
As elections approach, there is an attempt to reinvent his image as a ‘messiah’ for electoral dividends.
So here are 4 among many crimes narrating Ansari's ghastly reign of terror & ruthless rampage in Purvanchal.
1) Murder Of Krishnanand Rai Krishnanand Rai was a veteran BJP leader who emerged as a challenger to the dominance of Mukhtar Ansari and his brother Afzal Ansari in Mohammadabad.
Ansari gang ambushed Rai’s convoy on in Nov 2005 and fired 500 rounds of bullets. In 2023, Ansari was handed 10 years imprisonment by court for Rai’s murder.
2) Murder Of Awadhesh Rai In 1980s, Mukhtar was trying to establish himself in Varanasi where his challenger was Awadhesh Rai, brother of Ajay Rai, current Congress UP chief.
On 3 August 1991, Mukhtar Ansari and his gang came to Rai’s house in a van and rained down bullets on Rai brothers standing outside. Mukhtar’s terror was such that no one came out of the nearest police station. In 2023, he was awarded life imprisonment for the murder.
3) Role In Mau Riots In 2005 Mukhtar fueled communal fire in Mau when students from a madarsa vandalised a Ramayana play.
Police took them in, Mukhtar intervened and students were let go.
Soon, shops of Hindus were burnt. Amidst curfew, Ansari roamed around in an open jeep armed with guns. Emboldened rioters started looting, firing, and terrorising locals.
The city burnt for 35 days, 17 were killed, 100s of houses and shops were turned to dust. Ansari forced govt officers to sit in and watch it all. Railways couldn’t send its trains to Mau.
Ansari got Yogi’s convoy attacked when he went there to quell riots. Nationwide outrage led to the arrest of Ansari and after that he was barely out.
4) Jailor R K Tiwari Murder Case Jailor Ramakant Tiwari, was known for his no-nonsense attitude towards criminals.
Mukhtar Ansari was one of the criminals under him in Lucknow jail. Tiwari’s efforts did not bode well for Ansari and his minions. In February 1999, he was shot dead near Raj Bhawan. In 2022, Ansari was handed a 5-year jail for this murder.
Congress’ marriage of convenience with Pappu Yadav
Ahead of 2024 general elections, Pappu Yadav has merged his Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) with Congress.
Pappu’s Rise:
Pappu Yadav rose from Bahubali politics to MP and MLA positions on the back of his strongman and Robinhood image. Arnab Goswami revealed he too was kidnapped by Yadav for two days In 1996.
Pappu Yadav has switched between fighting independently and on SP and RJD tickets. Yadav’s fortunes turned upside down when he was convicted for murder in 1998.
Later by 2015, Pappu Yadav formed his own party.
Thereon Yadav tried an image makeover using social media and videos his traversing through flood prone areas in Patna to help people.
Seemanchal and Muslim Votes:
The decision to merge with Congress is driven by electoral calculations in Bihar's Seemanchal region.
Seemanchal consists of Araria, Purnea, Kishanganj, and Katihar which come under Purnea division.
Muslims make up 45.9% of Purnea’s population given the spillover from the massive influx of Bangladeshi migrants.
Now Yadav can’t win on his own and Congress was worried about the division of Muslim vote due to Yadav’s growing support.
Congress is also wary of AIMIM which snatched away a sizable chunk of its Muslim votes in the assembly polls and now plans to field 11 candidates in the LS polls.
So while Pappu Yadav will help Congress and INDI Alliance in consolidating Muslim vote, he wishes to contest from Purnea.
Therein comes the marriage of convenience between Pappu Yadav and the Congress.
Keep Your Enemies Closer: But What Can Congress Do About Lalu? Can’t Keep Him Afar, Can’t Keep Him Close!
RJD's decision to field Bima Bharti in Purnea has jeopardised Congress's strategy in Bihar's Seemanchal.
Congress Fuming:
RJD announced without consulting its INDI Alliance partners.
Congress is fuming as it invested political capital in Purnea with Pappu Yadav's merger, who went on to state that he could leave his body, but not Purnea.
Pappu says he will request Lalu to let him fight from Purnea and that Bima is like his daughter, but relations and ideologies are separate.
Lalu’s Maneuvering:
Post Nitish Kumar’s exit from alliance, RJD looks to consolidate and solidify its position as a lone challenger to NDA and hinder resurgence of Congress in Bihar.
The tussle over seats was bitter. Congress demanded 12 seats while RJD offered 6. They agreed on 9.
Selection of seats is still a problem. Killing Congress in Purnea (Seemanchal) is an opportunity for Lalu to break the morale of Congress workers and halt any efforts to rebuild its base in Bihar.
Another reason could be Lalu's attempt to halt another Yadav leader from growing. For Pappu, 2024 serves as a semi-final for 2025 Bihar polls.
Deja Vu For Congress:
Congress' past alliances with RJD have also resulted in diminishing returns for it.
In 1990s, when RJD grappled with existential crisis given the ‘Jungle Raj’, it aligned with UPA. RJD made inroads into Congress’ voter base.
Thereafter, Congress’ votes and seats only dipped.
Nitish Kumar understood how RJD operates. That is why as a part of INDI Alliance he insisted on finalising seat-sharing at the earliest.
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