Who Was Mukhtar Ansari? 'Bahubali' Gangster Of UP Who Was Convicted For BJP MLA's Murder

Jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died after he suffered a heart attack in jail in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district on Thursday.

A convicted gangster and politician from Uttar Pradesh, 61-year-old Mukhtar Ansari had been elected as MLA from the Mau constituency five times, including twice as a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate. He was the relative of former Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari.

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Mukhtar Ansari was convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in April 2023 for the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai by an MP MLA court. He was sentenced to life in prison on March 13, 2024, in connection with a fake arms license case.

Mukhtar Ansari’s Family History

Mukhtar Ansari’s paternal grandfather Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari was an early president of the Indian National Congress, while his maternal grandfather, Mohammad Usman was a Brigadier in the Indian Army.

Mukhtar Ansari’s Political Career and Rivalry With Brijesh Singh

Mukhtar Ansari’s early introduction to politics was in 1995 via student union at Banaras Hindu University (BHU). He became an MLA for the first time in 1996.

After being elected to the Legislative Assembly, Mukhtar Ansari began challenging rival Brijesh Singh’s dominance in the Poorvanchal region. In 2002, Singh allegedly ambushed Ansari’s convoy. In the incident, three of Ansari’s men were killed while Brijesh Singh was critically injured and presumed dead.

Singh, however, was later found to be alive. The rivalry between the two leaders continued. Singh supported the election campaign of the BJP leader Krishnanand Rai, who defeated Mukhtar Ansari’s brother and five-time MLA Afzal Ansari from Mohammadabad in the 2002 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai was shot dead in public along with six aides while Ansari was lodged in jail in a riot case in 2005.

Mukhtar Ansari’s Stint as BSP Leader

In 2007, Mukhtar Ansari and his brother Afzal joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). In 2009, Ansari fought the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi on a BSP ticket, while lodged in jail and lost to BJP’s Murli Manohar Joshi.

BSP expelled the two brothers from the party in 2010 after establishing they were still involved in criminal activities.

The Ansari brothers then formed their own party, Quami Ekta Dal (QED). In 2014, Mukhtar Ansari fought the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and lost.

In 2016, Mukhtar Ansari rejoined the BSP before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2017. He won the Mau assembly seat as a BSP candidate in 2017.

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