Ghazipur prepares to vote on June 1 in light of compassion factor vs end of Goonda Raj

Ghazipur : Mukhtar Ansari, a mafia don-turned-politician, is at the center of political debate in this Uttar Pradesh constituency two months after his death, with his elder sibling, INDIA bloc candidate Afzal Ansari, running against BJP’s Parasnath Rai for the Lok Sabha seat. As campaigning comes to a conclusion and Ghazipur prepares to vote in the last round of the seven-phase election on June 1, talks appear to revolve around the compassion factor vs the end of goonda raj attitude.
This time, people are filled with pity as a result of Mukhtar Ansari’s death. Mukhtar’s son Umar Ansari is also campaigning for Afzal Ansari, which is boosting sympathy, according to Hidayatullah, who is fifty. Ashok Lal Srivastava, a practicing attorney, disagreed.
If someone claims compassion for Mukhtar Ansari, he is lying. His previous fear and domination have come to an end. Its effects will be noticeable on June 4 (counting day). In 2019, Afzal Ansari beat then-Union minister and current Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha by more than 1.19 lakh votes.
There are ten contenders in the race, including Afzal Ansari, who is running in poll on SP ticket, his major challenger Rai from the BJP, and Umesh Singh from the BSP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and head Minister Yogi Adityanath have attended rallies in favor of the BJP candidate, while Samajwadi Party head Akhilesh Yadav has staged a meeting to endorse Afzal Ansari. Yadav went to Mukhtar Ansari’s residence to convey his condolences following his death.
Afzal Ansari, a five-time MLA and two-time MP who has run for office in the shadow of Mukhtar Ansari for over four decades, is playing the compassion card. He has claimed that his brother’s murder was part of a plot, and the public is outraged, the consequences of which will be seen on June 4.
BJP candidate Rai has responded, saying Afzal Ansari should not equate his terrorist brother to martyrs. Mukhtar Ansari, accused in more than 60 crimes, including the murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai, died on March 28 this year while being treated in a hospital in Banda district jail when his health worsened. Ansari’s relatives claimed that he was murdered by gradual poison. The post-mortem report revealed that he died of heart arrest.
While Afzal Ansari beat Manoj Sinha in 2019, the SP coalition trounced the BJP by capturing all five assembly seats in this region in the 2022 elections. SP candidates won Saidpur (reserved), Ghazipur Sadar, Jangipur, and Zamania, while the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), an SP ally at the time, won Jakhania (reserved). SBSP is now part of the NDA.
“Afzal Ansari is in the forefront of this effort. Some powerful people may refer to him as a mafia don and a goon, but he has a lot of affection for the poor… there is sympathy for Mukhtar Ansari’s death, and the poor of all classes are supporting him,” said Ghanshyam Yadav, a resident of Dashwantpur village and a member of the local block development council.
Aside from the Mukhtar Ansari factor, additional concerns for Ghazipur’s 20.74 lakh votes include caste mobilisation and the Modi-Yogi draw. Sadanand, a 30-year-old Jangipur man who set up a tent for charging fast tags on the Varanasi-Gorakhpur route, is reluctant to speak. When pressed, he stated that in this election, the upper castes are voting for the lotus flower (BJP’s election emblem), some for the elephant (BSP symbol), while Muslims, most backward, and some Dalits are riding bicycles (SP sign). Upper castes, which include Bhumihar, Brahmin, Kshatriya, and Kayastha, make up around 19% of the population.
Backward castes account for around 43 per cent of the population, which includes Yadav, Kushwaha, Bind-Nishad, and Rajbhar. Muslims account up 12 per cent, while Scheduled Castes make up 21 per cent .
According to Rameshwar Kumar, a Supreme Court and counsel, the conflict in Ghazipur is triangular, with the BSP also involved. He believes that admiration for Mukhtar Ansari is diluting the Dalit vote. Awadhesh Ram, a Dalit farmer, wasn’t aware who the BSP candidate was, but he was certain his vote would support the party. Not everyone is forthright, though. Brijraj Prajapati, who owns a food store, stated, “I will vote wherever my friends tell me to.” Added Rachna, a young lawyer. ”Elections are important in a democracy. It is unnecessary for me to say who you will vote for.”