Afzal Ansari Sentenced Four Years Of Imprisonment, Set To Lose Lok Sabha Seat

Saturday wrote the fates of the Ansari brothers in its own way as gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari got convicted and 10 years of imprisonment along with a fine of Rs. 5 lakh was bestowed upon him. A few hours later, his elder brother, Afzal Ansari, BSP MLA from Ghazipur, too got convicted in the very same kidnapping and murder case pertaining to the killing of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai.

Afzal has been sentenced to four years in prison with Rs. 1 lakh as fine. Now, as the parliament rules say, any Member of Parliament, who has been convicted and sentenced to two or more years of imprisonment will be automatically disqualified. This is how the former president of Congress, Rahul Gandhi, lost his membership in parliament from Wayanad in the 2019 defamation case.

After his conviction, Afzal Ansari is set to lose his Lok Sabha seat in Ghazipur which he won by defeating Manoj Sinha, now the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Manoj Sinha, then a central minister, was believed to be a strong candidate whom BJP could bet upon and many were stunned by his defeat in the 2019 elections. But as fate would have it, he lost the seat where his victory seemed to be almost certain and today, his defeater has been sentenced to a quantum of punishment in which he is going to lose the very same seat. The seat falls in the region where the Ansari brothers enjoyed their mafia-rule.

Alka Rai, the wife of late BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai, who was murdered in Ghazipur in 2005, said that the rule of the mafia has ended in Uttar Pradesh and she has faith in the judiciary.